INSIDE
ONE BIG FAMILY
Creepy and iconic
characters come to
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PAGE 6A
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢
Trio vows to get energy back on track
HILO — Hawaii Island’s renewable
energy portfolio took a hit from a series
of natural disasters this year, losing both
geothermal and hydroelectric power
sources.
But Mike Kaleikini, senior director
for Ormat Technology Inc.’s Puna
Geothermal Venture, and Jay Ignacio,
president of Hawaii Electric Light Co.,
vow to put things back on track as soon
as they’re able.
Kaleikini and Ignacio, along with
Warren Lee, president of Hu Honua
Bioenergy LLC, sat down Wednesday
for a luncheon talk story session with the
Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce.
“In terms of renewable energy, we’re
kind of taking a step back from where
KAILUA-KONA — A bout of bad
weather could impact West Hawaii
on Saturday as some 2,500 athletes
take on the 40th annual Ironman
World Championship.
“There’s a chance there could be
some heavier showers or maybe a
thunderstorm popping up for the leeward
side,” said Matt Foster, a meteorologist
with the National Weather
Service in Honolulu.
The foul weather, based on forecast
models available Wednesday, should
hold off for a chunk of the athletes to
finish, he said. Typically, professionals
we were in 2018,” Ignacio said, adding
that the island’s renewable mix now
accounts for 25 percent to 30 percent of
utility sales.
The island, with a mix of geothermal,
solar, wind and hydroelectricity, last year
had the highest renewable percentage in
the state at 57 percent. That means less
than half of total utility sales came from
fossil fuels.
In comparison, the state average last
year was 27.7 percent, according to the
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who get underway at 6:45 a.m. tend
to cross the finish line about eight
hours later, around 2:30-3 p.m.
“Maybe, the first people in, they
might be able to avoid it,” Foster said.
The chance for bad weather during
the race is possible thanks to a trough
of low pressure forecast to develop
over the western islands and shift
eastward over the state toward the
Big Island today through Saturday.
At the same time, moisture pooling
south of the state is expected to move
northward, resulting in stormy conditions
for Oahu, Maui County and
the Big Island Friday and Saturday.
“The most unstable conditions
state Public Utilities Commission.
“PGV, Ormat is totally 100 percent
committed to returning back to operations,”
Kaleikini said. “It’s a different
landscape today, but we’re commited to
coming back. … It’s been tough.”
Ormat has been helicoptering staff to
the site, he said, as a 50-to-60-foot wall
of lava blocks the entrance. Major work
has to wait until state officials give the
go-ahead; a difficult proposition since
Gov. David Ige last week signed a fourth
supplemental emergency proclamation,
extending the lava emergency until Dec.
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appear to be moving through Saturday
afternoon across Maui County and
the Big Island, where a thunderstorm
can’t be ruled out either,” forecasters
wrote in an area forecast discussion
issued Wednesday.
Saturday morning should open to
sunny skies and fairly light and variable
winds with some land breezes
coming down the mountain.
A moderate south-southwest swell
is forecast to impact the Kailua-Kona
coastline as swimmers take to Kailua
Bay for the 2.4-mile swim Saturday.
Wave heights could be between 5-6
feet, according to forecast models.
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SEE RAIN PAGE 5A
Jody Buddemeyer appears in 3rd
Circuit Court with his attorney
Brian De Lima on Wednesday. LAURA
RUMINSKI/WEST HAWAII TODAY
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HI 86 LO 74 WEATHER, PAGE 5A
VOL. 50, NO. 284 20 PAGES
THREE DAYS TO RACE DAY
SPORTS, 1B
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RACE DAY COULD SEE WEE BIT OF RAIN
FORECAST SAYS SATURDAY AFTERNOON SHOWERS POSSIBLE
BY CHELSEA JENSEN
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
Rain has fallen this week, including on this cyclist
on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, leading up to
Saturday’s Ironman. LAURA RUMINSKI/WEST HAWAII TODAY
Officer defense
lays case
EXPERTS SAY EX-COP WAS
SLEEP-DEPRIVED PRIOR TO
FATAL ACCIDENT
BY TIFFANY DEMASTERS
WEST HAWAII TODAY
tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com
KEALAKEKUA — A court-appointed
doctor testified a former Hawaii County
police officer suffered from a shift-work
sleep disorder the morning he fatally
struck a cyclist in March 2015.
The defense for Jody Buddemeyer
began presenting its case to the jury
in 3rd Circuit Court this week. On
Wednesday, defense counsel Brian De
Lima called three doctors to the stand
who were court-appointed to interview
his client to determine if he was penally
responsible for the alleged crime.
All three testified Buddemeyer was fit
to proceed after interviewing the defendant
in February 2017. However, the
three doctors unanimously and independently
determined the former officer’s
mental state at the time of the crash was
significantly impaired due to an acute
stress reaction.
The state has accused Buddemeyer
of negligent homicide, tampering with
physical evidence and false reporting to
law enforcement after striking cyclist
Jeffrey Surnow in his police subsidized
vehicle in the early morning hours of
March 1, 2015. After the collision, the
From left, Warren Lee of Honua Ola Bioenergy, Jay Igancio of HELCO and Mike Kaleikini of Puna Geothermal
Ventures sit down for a “talk story” presentation about Hawaii island’s energy future Wednesday during a Hawaii
Island Chamber of Commerce luncheon at ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo. HOLLYN JOHNSON/TRIBUNE-HERALD
OFFICIALS UPDATE PLANS AT CHAMBER FUNCTION
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
“It’s a different landscape
today, but we’re commited to
coming back. It’s been tough.”
MIKE KALEIKINI
DIRECTOR, PUNA GEOTHERMAL VENTURE
SEE ENERGY PAGE 4A SEE DEFENSE PAGE 4A
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