Not That Green

Kills the Endangered `Ope`ape`a

Keep the North Shore Country is asking the Intermediate Court of Appeals to reverse a decision accepting the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the Na Pua Makani wind project as it does not address federal laws requiring that populations of endangered species be left in better conditions than they were before.
In Hawaiian Kumulipo, the creation story, the ʻōpeʻapeʻa were identified as our ancestors. These industrious creatures weigh in at 1.5 oz and they forage, sometimes with their twin pups, feeding on beetles, termites, and bugs that were once pests to farmers. When they fly as the turbines move, because of the change in air pressure, their lungs blow up. So here we are 10,000 later, killing them from the inside out.

Kills Local Wildlife

Nothing justifies the murder of ecologically and culturally significant native species, such as the sacred, and endangered, `ope`ape`a. We still don’t know the population size of our state’s official land mammal.
The Na Pua Makani project will kill indigenous, threatened and/or endangered winged species including the `ope`ape`a (bat), `a`o (shearwater), ae`o (stilt), `alae ke`oke`o (coot), ‘alae ‘ula (moorhen), koloa (duck), and nene (goose). The killing of winged species that are ecologically and culturally important, which results in a damaged ecosystem, is not worth the small amount of unreliable energy the project proposes to produce.
See more information on NPM Wind Project Impact on Wildlife and Cultural Significance of Threatened Species below.

Carbon Footprint and Industrial Waste

Production— Wind turbines are made of approximately 80% steel, 16% of fiberglass, resin, plastic, and iron, copper and aluminum. 70% of steel is made of coal. It’s been reviewed by the United States Geological Survey. On average 1 MW of wind capacity requires 103 tons of stainless steel, 402 tons of concrete, 6.8 tons of fiberglass, 3 tons of copper and 20 tons of cast iron. The elegant blades are made of fiberglass, the skyscraper sized tower of steel, and the base of concrete.
“The consumption of fossil fuels and water during construction and decommissioning can be significant. Transportation of oversized equipment can be expensive and hazardous.”
Installation— Concrete base for each wind turbine uses a mass amount of cement and steel. Depths of each base vary on the size of turbine, at least 10 feet deep 60 feet wide. As for the concrete, 360 cubic yards of concrete and 28 tons of reinforcement steel. Physicists state that in order to produce the cement in each base, 25000 pounds of carbon dioxide alone.
"Wind power currently requires the manufacturing of large pieces of equipment from foreign sources.”
“Wind turbines may also use rare earth minerals. These minerals are often located in countries with less stringent environmental standards than the United States, and mining these minerals can have negative effects on the environment. Producing the metals and other materials used to make wind turbines and the concrete used for their foundations requires energy that may have been produced by fossil fuels.”
Once it is erected, oils and coolants will be used to keep them spinning, night and day.
““Wind turbines are expensive pieces of machinery, and the lubrication system is critical to keeping that machine working well,” she said. “Many different parts of the wind turbine need to be lubrication with a range of lubricants greases to gearbox fluids to hydraulic oils. Keeping a wind turbine’s gearbox properly lubricated is important in extending the life of a wind turbine, Patterson said. Petro-Canada’s HARNEX 320, designed for use in wind turbine gearboxes, is a fully-synthetic oil designed to withstand the conditions wind turbines may face, from extreme temperatures to potential corrosion from saltwater for offshore wind turbines.”
Transportation— the transport of manufactured components to the site of the wind power plant is thousands of miles away using tremendous amounts of diesel, gas, and fossil fuels. Heavy equipment used for transport on roads which are not meant to handle oversize overweight loads. Destruction of roads and clearing of trees, vegetation, and farmland produces an enormous amount of carbon footprint.

Burdens Our Landfills

O`ahu’s landfills are already over capacity, yet there is no real plan for dumping these massive blades and taxpayers will end up paying for decommissioning when they eventually break. The cost to decommission one turbine cost hundreds of thousands of dollars .
At the end of the turbine’s life cycle the blades can not be recycled as they are made with fiberglass.
“A typical wind turbine is reported to contain 89.1 percent steel, 5.8 percent fiberglass, 1.6 percent copper, 1.3 percent concrete (primarily cement, water, aggregates, and steel reinforcement), 1.1 percent adhesives, 0.8 percent aluminum, and 0.4 percent core materials (primarily foam, plastic, and wood) by weight (U.S. Department of Energy, 2008).”
Wind Turbine Blades Can’t Be Recycled, So They’re Piling Up in Landfills

Destroys Pristine Lands and Forests

This is a picture of one of the sites that was cleared in the Kahuku mountains for one of the turbine pads. There are 8 sites which have been cleared like this along with clearing for the roads leading to the sites.
“Large areas of land are required for wind power plants. The land often cannot be utilized productively during construction or decommissioning.”
“Most wind power projects on land require service roads that add to the physical effects on the environment.”

Use of Dynamite During Construction

This video documents an alleged incident where there was illegal use of dynamite to clear the land that most likely could have contained `iwi kupuna, or native Hawaiian burials. It has been reported that the company admitted that there were three seperate occasions that dynamite had been used without the proper permits required by state law.

Benefits Do Not Outweigh Costs

“Green energy projects must consider its impact on the environment, wildlife, and our communities. It must not come at the cost of these things just to reach it’s 2045 Renewable Energy Goal. Wind companies claim to be green by powering thousands of homes through wind but this fails to account for wind turbine’s impact in its totality...How can this be a positive environmental move if it results in destroying that environment?... This is not responsible green energy. The overall costs of wind turbines need to be considered. Without the federal subsidies and tax breaks, wind energy simply does not make sense. Wind energy is not green energy, it is greed energy.” - Sunny Unga, Community Member

NPM Wind Project Impact on Wildlife.pdf

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