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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 3:02 p.m., Tuesday, July 15, 2008

ALGAE BIOFUEL
Maui algae biodiesel facility planned

Advertiser Staff

HR BioPetroleum

HR BioPetroleum, Inc., is a Hawaii-based and -founded renewable biofuels company that uses marine algae to produce biofuel feedstocks. HRBP intends to construct and operate commercial algae facilities that will convert carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and other large point sources of carbon dioxide into feedstocks for biofuels and other products. Additional information is available at www.hrbp.com.

Alexander & Baldwin

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., headquartered in Honolulu, is engaged in ocean transportation and logistics services, through its subsidiaries, Matson Navigation Company, Inc. and Matson Integrated Logistics, Inc.; in real estate, through A&B Properties, Inc.; and in food products, through Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company and Kauai Coffee Company, Inc. Additional information about A&B may be found at: www.alexanderbaldwin.com.

Hawaiian Electric and Maui Electric Company

Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., and its subsidiaries, Maui Electric Company, Ltd., and Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc., provide electricity to 95 percent of the state’s 1.2 million residents on O’ahu, Maui, Hawai’i, Lana’i and Moloka’i. Additional information is available at www.heco.com.

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HR BioPetroleum, Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., Hawaiian Electric Company and Maui Electric Company today announced they have signed memoranda of understanding to pursue the joint development of a commercial-scale microalgae facility on Maui to produce lipid oil for conversion to biodiesel and other products, such as animal feed.

Under the agreements:

  • HR BioPetroleum will be responsible for overall project management, including obtaining financing, and construction and operation of the microalgae facility.

  • Alexander & Baldwin will provide strategically located land, adjacent to Maui Electric's Ma'alaea Power Plant, to site the algae production ponds and processing plant, and may provide equity capital to the project.

  • Hawaiian Electric and Maui Electric companies will lead in determining the permitting and construction needs for piping to carry stack gases containing carbon dioxide, which the algae consume, from the Ma'alaea plant to an adjacent algae facility.

    Construction of the commercial microalgae facility is subject to a variety of factors, including confirmation of algae performance data from HR BioPetroleum's pilot and demonstration facilities, receipt of required regulatory approvals, formation of a special purpose entity, project financing commitments and the signing of definitive agreements with Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric and A&B.

    If these successfully occur, the first phase of the commercial facility could be in operation by 2011.

    "This innovative partnership can help move Hawai'i one step closer to securing energy independence and achieving our goal of having 70 percent of Hawai'i's energy come from clean sources by 2030," Gov. Linda Lingle said in a news release.

    "There is no single source of energy that will break our dependence on foreign oil, but investments in renewable projects such as this are part of the comprehensive solution to provide energy alternatives for our state."

    Microalgae have potential as an energy crop, with the prospect for high levels of oil production per acre. When combined with other vegetable-oil crops that could be grown locally, such as jatropha or palm, algae could help meet the biodiesel feedstock need for biodiesel on Maui, which now fuels about 85 percent of its combustion generation with petroleum diesel, according to the release.

    The Ma'alaea algae facility would be HR BioPetroleum's first commercial facility.

    "This agreement is a welcome step in HR BioPetroleum's efforts to accelerate its proven technology toward commercial scale," stated Ed Shonsey, HR BioPetroleum chief executive officer.

    "HR BioPetroleum has developed techniques to scale production and achieve at least a 50 percent improvement over the price per barrel of fossil fuel today, while mitigating carbon dioxide release into the atmosphere," he added.

    "Alexander & Baldwin has been producing renewable energy in Hawai'i for more than 100 years through biomass and hydro-electric generation at its agricultural operations on both Maui and Kaua'i, and today generates approximately seven percent of the electricity used on each of those islands," Allen Doane, A&B chairman and CEO said in the release.

    Mike May, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric, said: "Along with many other initiatives in the works, this is another example of how successful partnerships can move Hawai'i toward a clean, renewable energy future we can all take pride in."

    Karl Stahlkopf, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president for energy solutions and chief technology officer, said the facility could "reduce our carbon footprint." But he added, "This project entails some uncertainly. Stepping forward to be a first implementer of a new idea always does."