Army to Lease Land to HECO for Biodiesel-Fueled Power Project

by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) The Army has announced the availability of the record of decision (ROD) to lease land and grant easements on Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Army Airfield to Hawaii Electric Co. (HECO) for the development of a 50 MW biodiesel-fueled power plant, known as the Schofield Generating Station. The ROD applies to the construction, ownership, operation and maintenance of the power plant along with associated power poles, high-tension power lines, and related equipment and facilities.

According to a notice published in the Federal Register, the action was the preferred alternative identified in the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed project.

Power generated by the plant will ordinarily supply power to all HECO customers through the island-wide electrical grid. During outages that meet certain criteria, plant output would first be provided to certain Army facilities, up to their peak demand of 32 MW. In the event of a full island outage, the generating station could be used to restart other generating stations on the island. READ MORE