Puna Geothermal Venture finished drilling a new well earlier this month intended to offset a drop in production at the 38-megawatt power plant outside Pahoa.
PGV reached rock heated by geothermal activity along Kilauea’s East Rift Zone at a depth of 5,700 feet May 3 after about three months of drilling, said Mike Kaleikini, senior director of Hawaiian Affairs for Ormat Technologies, PGV’s parent company.
The exact temperature of the rock isn’t yet known, but most active wells average around 600 degrees, he said.
PGV will next work to connect the well to the power plant. Kaleikini said that should be done around mid-August.
Until then, it won’t be known how productive the well will be, he said.
“We’re hopeful in August we will be able to gauge what the new well is capable of,” Kaleikini said.
The power plant is producing 26 mgw of electricity. It has a contract with Hawaii Electric Light Co. to produce 38 mgw.
Kaleikini said it’s still not known what has caused a decrease in production, though a reduction in the heat source, blockages in the injection wells and mechanical failures have been past causes for drops in output.
Plans for the new well faced opposition from nearby residents who object to PGV drilling around the clock.
Kaleikini said he received 24 noise complaints while drilling occurred. Half came from one residence, he said.
A lawsuit Puna Pono Alliance and two nearby residents filed in 3rd Circuit Court seeking to stop PGV from drilling at night has not been resolved.
PGV has six production wells, including this one, and five injection wells.
The power plant uses steam heated by geothermal resources to produce electricity.
A well drilled in 2012 didn’t find a geothermal resource.
Ormat continues to negotiate with HELCO on a new contract to provide another 25 mgw of geothermal power.
Kaleikini has declined to say where that new power plant will be built, other than along Kilauea’s East Rift Zone, until negotiations are complete.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.