Hawi Wind Farm
On a recent trip to Hawaii, which involved 5 plane flights, I effectively negated all of my carbon reduction efforts for the year. On the plus side, I saw some amazing things that I’ll never forget.
I took my toddler son to see the Hawi wind farm. He was amazed, I was amazed. We drove up the spine of Kohala Mountain (EL = 5,480′), then descended to the small town of Hawi. Located at the northern tip of the Big Island, this place is certainly windy. You can find wind maps on Hawaii Electric Company’s website. Dozens of cows are nestled beneath 16 wind turbines. The wind farm is adjacent to the Upolo Airport (How do the pilots handle the wind?) and the island of Maui looms in the distance. It was a fantastic place to wander around.
There are sixteen Vestas turbines providing a total output of 10.56 Megawatts. The wind farm came online in 2006 and provides power for Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO). (data from the American Wind Association).
Erin Nunes Cooper, AIA, LEED AP is an Architect, Green Building Consultant, and the owner of 
