Taylor Scott International News
Duane Shimogawa Reporter- Pacific Business News Hawaii BioEnergy, which has a signed agreement with Alaska Airlines to provide the Seattle-based carrier with locally-grown biofuel, is “intending to” approach Hawaiian Airlines about providing the state’s flagship carrier with biofuel as well, Joel Matsunaga , executive vice president and chief operating officer for Hawaii BioEnergy told PBN. “Our thing is liquid fuels [and] Hawaii needs liquid fuels at some point, [so] we are definitely a jet [fuel] market [and] the shipping industry does [too]. It’s critical to have it sourced locally,” he said. Hawaiian Airlines spokeswoman Ann Botticelli told PBN via email that the airline has not yet been approached by Hawaii BioEnergy, but it affirms that it is always interested in hearing about ways to increase its efficiency. Meantime, Hawaii BioEnergy, a consortium of three of the state’s largest landowners and three venture capital firms — including Kamehameha Schools , Maui Land & Pineapple Co. Inc. (NYSE: MLP), Grove Farm, Khosla Ventures, Finistere Ventures LLC and Ulupono Initiative — said previously that it plans to begin production of its biofuel product within five years of regulatory approval. Alaska Airlines is expected to start procuring jet fuel for its Hawaii flights as soon as fall 2018. The feedstock utilized for the biofuel will be woody biomass-based, Hawaii BioEnergy said. “The ability to service the market depends on land availability,” Matsunaga said. “The more we get the better.” He pointed out that the company’s best prospects are on Kauai and the Big Island, with Oahu suffering from availability issues as well as lots of competing uses. “Maui is not dissimilar to Oahu,” Matsunaga said. “There [are] still a lot of competing uses for land [there].” Last month, Hawaii BioEnergy said it is getting $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for a Kauai-based biofuels energy project that will produce algae oil in a project that aims to demonstrate pre-processing technologies that reduce energy use, among other things. About two years ago, Hawaiian Electric Co. signed a contract with Hawaii BioEnergy to supply 10 million gallons of Kauai-grown biofuel annually to power its Kahe Generating Station in Leeward Oahu. Matsunaga said that the company is still waiting for the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to approve the 20-year contract with HECO. Taylor Scott International
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