| Established | 1974 |
|---|---|
| Staff | 26 |
| Location | Kailua-Kona, Hawaii |
| Campus | 870 acres (3.5 km2) |
| Operating Agency | State of Hawaii[1] |
| Website | www.nelha.org |
| Renewable energy |
|---|
|
Biofuel |
The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) administers the Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology Park (HOST Park). NELHA also administers a small site 4 acres (0.016 km2) in Puna on the eastern side of the Island of Hawaii for geothermal research. NELHA was founded in 1974. The original mission was for research into the uses of Deep Ocean Water in Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) renewable energy production and in aquaculture. It later added research into sustainable uses of natural energy sources such as solar energy. Its administration offices are located in the HOST Park Keahole Point in the North Kona District. The entrance is on the Hawaii Belt Road at coordinates , just south of the Kona International Airport. The main administration office is in the 4 acres (0.016 km2) research campus at the end of the road along the coastline on Keahole Point.
The laboratory was founded in 1974 with 345 acres (1.40 km2), associated with the University of Hawaii. Large pipelines pump cold sea water from a depth of 3,000 feet (910 m). For three months in 1979, a small amount of electricity was generated. A larger plant was constructed in the [2] Almost $250M was spent on Ocean thermal energy conversion, but by 1991, the research shifted to other areas. The adjacent Science and Technology Park was merged into the facility, expanding it to 877 acres (3.55 km2). A neutrino detector was partially constructed in the 1990s called Project DUMAND.[3]
In 2002, 50 acres (200,000 m2) were leased to a commercial company which filters and bottles the water for sale in Japan.[4] The pipelines were broken in the October 15, 2006 earthquake, but one of the three has been repaired over two years later. Makai Ocean Engineering, working with Lockheed Martin, restarted OTEC research.[5] Aquaculture, biofuel from algae, solar thermal energy, solar concentrating and wind power are some of the 40 tenants.[2]