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Wednesday, 07 January 2009 |
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Will Supply 30 Percent of Lana'i's Peak Electricity Demand
On January 6, 2009, Castle & Cooke Hawai'i and SunPower Corporation dedicated the 1.2-megawatt La Ola Solar Farm on Lana'i in Hawai'i. La Ola, which is translated from Hawaiian as "sun that gives life," has 7,000 solar panels spread across 10 acres in south Lana'i and is expected to produce enough clean, renewable solar power to supply up to 30 percent of the island's peak electric demand.
The system is expected to generate about 3 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. The power is being purchased by Maui Electric Company (MECO), and transmitted to Lana'i's homes and businesses through MECO's electric power grid. This will help reduce more than 2300 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in Lana'i each year, which is approximately the same amount of carbon dioxide emitted from the consumption of almost 5000 barrels of oil or more than 237,000 gallons of gasoline.
"Castle & Cooke is committed to helping the state of Hawai'i achieve energy independence. With the dedication of Hawai'i's largest solar farm, we are delivering on our commitment by bringing clean solar energy to the people of Lana'i," stated David H. Murdock, chairman and owner of Castle & Cooke, Inc. "This state-of-the-art solar farm helps pave the way for Hawai'i to become a leader in the production of renewable energy. La Ola is just the first step of Castle & Cooke's plans for renewable, sustainable energy."
 At the La Ola site, SunPower installed a single-axis SunPower® Tracker system. The Tracker tilts toward the sun as it moves across the sky, increasing energy capture by up to 25 percent over fixed systems while reducing land-use requirements.
"Clean, reliable solar power will become a core energy investment over the next decade, driven in large part by visionary leaders such as Castle & Cooke, MECO and the State of Hawai'i," said Tom Werner, chief executive officer of SunPower. "Having installed the first commercially-financed solar power system in the US on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1998, followed by more than six megawatts of solar power systems across the Hawaiian islands since that time, we are pleased to dedicate this very significant project on the island of Lana'i."
They worked with Mauna Lani Resorts to make the hotel the first commercially-financed photovoltaic system in the state in 1998. That first effort was for 90 kW, good enough to power about 90 homes. Since then, Mauna Lani has become a leader in Hawaii with five more projects giving them a total of 674 kW of power.
SunPower in Hawaii has also provided systems to Parker Ranch, Harley Davidson on Oahu, the US Navy on Ford Island and Castle & Cooke on Lanai.
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Sunday, 04 January 2009 |
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Are We in for More of the Same in 2009?
The foreclosure database RealtyTrac® recently released its market
report for November 2008. The report stated that foreclosure filings (defined by RealtyTrac as bank repossessions, default
notices, and auction sale notices) totaled 259,085 properties for the entire USA. 393 of these foreclosures were reported for the state of
Hawaii.
Of the 393 foreclosures reported for Hawaii, 214 were on Oahu, 86 on the Big Island, 74 on Maui, and19 on Kauai. The Big Island total consisted of 34 in Kailua-Kona, 13 in Hilo, 12 in Pahoa, 10 in Waikoloa, 7 in Keaau, 5 in Waimea, and just 1 in Volcano.
These statistics are quite similar to October, 2008 when RealtyTrac reported 197 foreclosures on Oahu, 103 on the Big Island, 71 on Maui, and 24.
 Breaking down the Big Island foreclosure data further, 44 were in Kailua-Kona, 25 in Pahoa, 15 in Hilo, 6 in Waikoloa, 1 in Holualoa, 1 in Honokaa, 3 in Waimea, 1 in Keaau, and 1 in Kapaau.
These numbers are significantly larger than a year ago, when there were just 113 foreclosures for all of Hawaii, including 41 on the Big Island, in November 2007.
"Foreclosure activity in November hit the lowest level we've seen since June, thanks in part to recently enacted laws that have extended the foreclosure process in some states, along with more aggressive loan modification programs and self-imposed holiday foreclosure moratoriums introduced by some lenders," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.
"There are several indications, however, that this lower activity is simply a temporary lull before another foreclosure storm hits in the coming months."
Saccacio stated that delinquencies on loans not yet in foreclosure jumped to almost 7% in the third quarter of 2008, which, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, is a record high.
"More than half of the homeowners who received loan modifications to reduce monthly mortgage payments in the first half of 2008 are already delinquent on their loans again, according to the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision," Saccacio said. "Many of these delinquencies could turn into foreclosures next year."
Banks typically do not want to go to foreclosure, because it is expensive for them. Foreclosure is usually a last resort, and most lenders are engaged in various types of loan modification programs to try to keep the borrower in the home. Loan modification can consist of things like having payments postponed, reducing the principal owed, or making adjustments to the loan (i.e. lower interest rates or a longer term for the loan).
Hawaii lenders, such as Bank of Hawaii, typically experiences a lower number of foreclosures due to policies which avoided many of the "sub-prime" mortgage issues.
Hawaii real estate agents are limited in the amount of help they can offer someone facing foreclosure, due to the Mortgage Rescue Fraud Prevention Act (Act 137), which passed in June. The law is intended to protect homeowners in financial difficulty from people wanting to steal their equity.
Due to the new Hawaii law, local real estate agents are reluctant to speak with lenders on their Seller clients' behalf (because if they do, they may incur significant risk and liability). Before Act 137 was passed, a bank was likely to put off foreclosure if they know the property is being marketed for sale. Now the home's owner must speak with the lender directly. It is possible that Act 137 will be revised in early 2009 to remove language regarding real estate agents, which will allow agents to assist homeowners without fear of being sued based on language in Act 137.
One positive outcome of this foreclosure activity, is that first-time home buyers are getting into homes that they wouldn't have been able to afford before. There is an increase in buyer activity on Hawaii Island compared to three months ago, and a portion is due to "short sale" and foreclosure sales.
For more information regarding foreclosures and short sales, please contact
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for expert advice.
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Friday, 02 January 2009 |
A 5.4 acre
waterfront estate steeped in the history of Honolulu is on the market,
priced at a whopping $80 million.
Known as the Kaiser Estate, the 2.2 hectare property was first
developed by American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, who founded
aluminum, steel, health care and aerospace companies that carry the
Kaiser name. Over the years, Jacqueline Kennedy, Bob Hope and President
Lyndon Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird, were among his guests on the
property, which sits on a quiet cove with views of Diamond Head.
The property is the largest waterfront parcel in one of Oahu’s most
prestigious neighborhoods, but the asking price is still jaw dropping.
A 15,000-square-foot house and a 12,000-square-foot boathouse on the
land are both in need of “major” repair. Property tax assessments value the property at $37.5 million, reduced from $48.8 million a year ago.
But the historic estate may be split up. The property could be sold as three parcels, priced between $18 million and $34 million; a 1.9-acre main house parcel for $28 million, a 1.6-acre landscaped
parcel with tennis courts for $18 million and a 2-acre boathouse parcel
that includes the harbor for $34 million.
 The current owners are Fred and Annie Chan, who reportedly paid
$14.6 million for the property in two transactions in 1997 and 2000.
Fred Chan is a tech entrepreneur who has expanded into real estate.
Past owners include Monte and Alfred Goldman, the sons of an Oklahoma
grocer who purportedly invented the shopping cart, and Japanese
billionaire Gensiro Kawamoto, who paid $42.5 million for the property
in 1988, which was believed to be the largest price ever paid for a
private residence in the United States, at the time.
Last year, the two-acre site of the estate’s former guest house,
which was redeveloped with a new house, sold for $15.9 million.
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Monday, 29 December 2008 |
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Orchidland Estates may Increase Fees
Tthe Orchidland Community Association wants to create a "legal defense
fund" to supplement insurance protecting the financial assets of the
association's 11-member Board of Directors.
It's proposing a new annual $50-per-lot fee be charged each
of the Orchidland Estates subdivision's nearly 2,500 lots, generating more than $100,000
each year.
The proposal is the subject of a special membership meeting set
for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 17, 2009 at the Hawaiian Paradise Park (HPP) Community Center.
The association buys insurance to cover directors and officers sued for their official actions.
Orchidland Estates property owners now pay an annual $65-per-lot
"mandatory road maintenance fee" that will increase to $85 next June.
They also are charged a yearly "special assessment," currently $100 per lot, to do road paving.
Details of Special Orchidland Membership Meeting - January 17, 2009
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Monday, 08 December 2008 |
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Natural Energy Engine in Hawaii
The demand for change is getting louder and Deluge, Inc. is now
poised to deliver to Hawaii a radical upgrade in mechanical engineering that will
have far-reaching effects worldwide, and potentially increase Big Island renewable electricity generation from the current 30% which comes from geothermal, wind, solar and hydro.
The “Natural Energy Engine” developed by Deluge has gone from an
inventor’s garage model to commercialization in Hawaii, where consumers
pay four times the price for electricity as their counterparts on the
mainland.
Proof of the operating principles of the engine was achieved at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Rocky Mountain Oil Testing Center in Wyoming, where a prototype engine successfully pumped crude oil from underground formations using geothermal energy as the sole source of heat for fuel.
The new demands for change in infrastructure require a change in technology, not “fixes” using the same old thinking.
Deluge, based in Arizona, nears completion of the first of two 250
kW engine/generators at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii
Authority state-owned facility near Kona. The second unit for this
project has just been configured in Deluge’s manufacturing center in
Phoenix, and is now being shipped to Kona for installation.
The generators will supply renewable electricity to the Big Island electric
grid , although a launch date has not been set. (Check out the video in the above link at about 8:25 in to see why we pay so much for electricity on the Big Island due to PU RPA)
The two units, each comprising 16 dual-piston engine cylinders, will
be fed heat from solar thermal collectors built by Sopogy, Inc. of
Hawaii. The Deluge engines will convert that heat to hydraulic pressure
to drive the generators. The cooling cycle for the engines uses cold
seawater from NELHA’s deep ocean facility.
The team of Deluge and Sopogy hope to build solar electric plants around the world.
Fuel Mix Among the Islands (2007 calendar year)
| Fuel Sources | HECO
(island of Oahu) | HELCO
(island of Hawaii) | MECO
(islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai) | HECO family of companies
(HECO, HELCO, and MECO) | | Oil | 77.6% | 69.1% | 83.7% | 77.4% | | Coal | 18.4% | | 1.8% | 14.1% | | Biofuel | | | 0.1% | | Biomass
(includes waste-to-energy) | 4.0% | | 4.4% | 3.6% | | Geothermal | | 18.3% | | 2.1% | | Hydro | | 3.4% | 0.7% | 0.5% | | Wind | | 9.2% | 9.3% | 2.3% | | TOTAL: | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
The
percentage of fuels used to produce electricity is based on the amount
of electricity generated by the HECO family of companies and the amount
purchased from independent power producers in 2007.
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