Customers on Hawaii Island are no longer being asked to conserve energy following the reopening of Hamakua Energy.
Hamakua Energy, Hawaii Island’s largest independent power producer, temporarily closed due to supply chain issues, resulting in Hawaiian Electric asking customers Monday to reduce electricity use during peak hours between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. until Saturday.
Hawaiian Electric purchases energy from Hamakua Energy which is owned by Pacific Current, Hawaiian Electric Senior Communications Consultant Kristen Okinaka told PBN. The closure of Hamakua Energy was due to the unavailability of ammonia, which is used for pollution control.
Pacific Current President Scott Valentino confirmed in an email to PBN that the plant received a shipment of ammonia Friday morning.
“We’ve owned the plant since 2017, and we’ve run low [on ammonia] before but we’ve never run out,” Valentino told PBN. “This is the first time we’ve had to shut the plant down because we didn’t have ammonia.”
“Ammonia is basically used as a way of cleaning up the exhaust gas before it leaves the power plant,” Valentino said.
Most power plants have a Selective Catalytic Reduction, which is an emissions control system, Valentino explained. Ammonia helps to break down nitrous oxide into nitrogen and water vapor before they leave the stack.
“While it isn’t directly related to power production, without that process, you have nitrous oxide leaving the stack which is a violation of the air permit.”
Hawaiian Electric’s Hill Plant Unit No. 5 and Puna Steam Plant were also unavailable due to planned annual maintenance and repairs. Together, the three plants normally generate 89 megawatts for the Hawaii Island grid, according to Hawaiian Electric.
