The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (''NELHA'') administers the Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology Park (HOST Park). ''NELHA'' was founded in 1974. At , HOST Park is a state-subsidized industrial park for incubator and marginal commercial ventures. Part of the subsidy is provided by writing off tenant debt.''NELHA'' also administers a small site, , in Puna on the eastern side of the Island of Hawaii for geothermal research. The original mission was for research into the uses of deep ocean water in ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

production and in

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

. It later added research into sustainable uses of natural energy sources such as

solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...

. Its administration offices are located in the HOST Park

Keahole Point Keāhole Point is the westernmost point of the island of Hawaii. The Kona International Airport was moved here from directly north of the town of Kailua-Kona in 1970, when the previous smaller airstrip was converted into the Old Kona Airport St ...

in the North Kona District. The entrance is on the Hawaii Belt Road at coordinates , just south of the

Kona International Airport Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole is the busiest airport on the Island of Hawaii. It is located in Kalaoa CDP, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, near the town of Kailua-Kona. The airport serves leeward (western) Hawai ...

. The main administration office is in the 4 acre research campus at the end of the road along the coastline on Keahole Point. NELHA 1

The laboratory was founded in 1974 with , associated with the University of Hawaii. Large pipelines pump cold sea water from a depth of . For three months in 1979, a small amount of electricity was generated. 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 . A neutrino detector was partially constructed in the 1990s called

Project DUMAND The DUMAND Project (Deep Underwater Muon And Neutrino Detector Project) was a proposed underwater neutrino telescope to be built in the Pacific Ocean, off the shore of the island of Hawaii, five kilometers beneath the surface. It would have include ...

. After four decades, NELHA is well on track to fulfilling its mission as an engine for economic development in Hawaii and the economic impact generated by HOST Park is approaching $150M annually with the creation of over 600 jobs statewide. In 2002, were leased to a commercial company which filters and bottles the water for sale in Japan.Natural Energy Lab ready for fresh start with DAGS
in Honolulu Advertiser, May 31, 2009 Makai Ocean Engineering, working with

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

, restarted OTEC research."Deep Pipelines for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion"
on Makai Ocean Engineering web site

Aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

algae biofuel Algae fuel, algal biofuel, or algal oil is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its source of energy-rich oils. Also, algae fuels are an alternative to commonly known biofuel sources, such as corn and sugarcane. When made f ...

, solar thermal energy, solar concentrating, and

wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...

are some of the 40 tenants.Revisiting NELHA
in West Hawaii Today, April 26, 2009

References

External links

Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii
Official web site
Friends of NELHA
Web site describing the Hawaii Gateway Energy Center which is NELHA's visitor center {{DEFAULTSORT:Natural Energy Laboratory Of Hawaii Authority Energy research institutes Buildings and structures in Hawaii County, Hawaii Research institutes in Hawaii Research institutes established in 1974 1974 establishments in Hawaii

See also

References

External links