The natural energy laboratory of Hawaii authority

IOA News Letters Summary

A STATE-SPONSORED AQUACULTURE AND RESEARCH PARK(II)

Presented at:

Aquaculture Resource Development in the Pacific Islands:
Cultural and Community Influences, Sustainability,
Technological Applications and Commercial Opportunities

October 29, 1998 - 8:20 a.m.

Thomas H. Daniel, Ph.D. Scientific/Technical Director Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority

CURRENT TENANTS AND PROJECTS

Table III lists the business names, the products or services provided and the contacts for the 26 current NELHA tenants.
As the table shows, tenants are engaged in a wide range of activities.

Examples of interesting projects include:

	NELHA saves nearly $4,000/mo in electricity costs by air conditioning all of its buildings with cold seawater. Most tenant buildings also use this technology, which is being developed for commercial applications around the world. [7], [8]
	Common Heritage Corporation, headed by NELHA founder Dr. John Craven, is growing more than 100 fruits and vegetables in a garden where the soil is cooled by pipes carrying deep seawater. Temperate crops, such as strawberries, asparagus, grapes and carrots, do very well under the climate control that is available by varying the flow rates of the cold seawater. As Dr. Craven says, "It's like perpetual springtime." Pineapple, which normally take two years to mature in Hawaii, get extra nutrition through their roots from the cold soil and produce sweet fruit in only 9 months. Golf course sod grows luxuriantly, irrigated only by the cold water that condenses on the seawater pipes. Since no external water is added, fertilizer gets directly to the plant roots and there is no runoff to impact the neighboring environment. Dr. Craven is also testing his patented "Hurricane Tower" fresh water production system.
	Both Aquasearch, Inc. and NELHA's largest tenant, Cyanotech Corp., grow microalgae. Cyanotech is the U.S.'s largest producer of spirulina, a high value nutritional supplement and both companies sell astaxanthin, a red algal pigment that colors pen-raised salmon and shrimp. Both companies also continue extensive research looking for new products that can be derived from the more than 30,000 known microalgae species.
	Taylor Shellfish and Coast Seafoods, the U.S.'s two largest producers of oysters and manila clams, have each developed extensive shellfish nursery operations at NELHA. From the Pacific northwest, they bring "spat", just settled larvae less than 1 mm in size, to NELHA for a two month growout in Kona's clean water and abundant sunshine. When the ~1 cm animals are returned home after their two-month Hawaiian vacation, they are ready to go into the ocean a full year earlier than if they'd stayed home. NELHA collects 2% of the increase in value of these millions of tiny shellfish - a significant step in the move towards facility self-sufficiency.
	Pacific Harvest, Inc. grows Pacific Threadfin, or moi, the "fish of the alii". They've recently signed a contract to supply 2400 lbs per month of the delicious fish, and plan by the end of November to have on hand a stock of more than 100,000 lbs. In less than one year they have developed a state of the art facility for culturing this seafood delicacy.
	Big Island Abalone Company has just, in October 1998, begun development in the Research Compound of a growth module for the new abalone growing system that they intend to expand into HOST Park in early 1999. Using a leafy cold water alga as food, their initial tests have demonstrated impressive mollusc growth rates that promise significant commercial success.
	Marine Bioproducts, Inc. is currently completing research compound tests that confirm the high algal growth rates they had anticipated under the intensive Kona insolation. The company is now preparing to expand to a 60-acre site in HOST Park, where they will grow the algae from which they will extract pure agar-agar, in great demand as a microbiological growth medium.
	High Health Aquaculture and Uwajima Fisheries both use the pure deep seawater to culture "Specific Pathogen Free" (SPF) shrimp sold as broodstock to shrimp culture operations throughout the world. Uwajima also grows Japanese flounder and other seafood products.
	Thermal Energy Storage, Inc. has developed a new method of desalinating seawater by freezing it. They first mix a chemical with the seawater to form a "clathrate" with a freezing point of about 10 ¢J . The clathrate freezes when chilled by 6 ¢J deep seawater, providing freshwater after the clathrate ice melts. Tests at NELHA have confirmed the company's prediction that this process can be more economical than competitive alternative desalination technologies.
	The West Hawaii Explorations Academy is a program of Konawaena High School that provides a year of off-campus experience at NELHA for local public high school students. Both college-bound and poor students learn through a project-oriented program built around the unique features of the Keahole Point site and the activities of NELHA's tenants.
	The Pacific International Center for High Technology Research (PICHTR) carries on the ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) research for which NELHA was originally established. Both open- and closed-cycle experiments produce electricity from the temperature difference between the surface and deep water.

TABLE III

NELHA RESEARCH & BUSINESS INCUBATOR TENANT CONTACT LIST

KEY: Site = Office at NELHA Properties

September 1998

AFFILIATED PROGRAM OF NELHA

CEROS: National Defense Center of Excellence for Research in Ocean Sciences

(U.S. Department of Defense research grants to commercial entities capable of doing business in Hawaii for R&D of ocean technologies with dual military and civilian use)

Bill Friedl, Technical Director
(Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.)
73-4460 Queen Kaahumanu Hwy. #111,
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Website: http://www.ceros.org

(808) 327-4310 (Site)
(808) 327-4320 (Fax)

SUMMARY: SUCCESSFUL AND STILL GROWING!

The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority's twenty six current tenants employ nearly 200 people and put more than $30 million dollars into the local economy each year. This activity produces about $2 million in State tax revenues, while the State's annual contribution for salaries and facility operations is less than $1 million. Growth of the facility requires the State's continued investment in capital improvements, but success of tenant businesses will eventually more than repay the cost of those facilities. NELHA continues to validate the vision of founder John Craven, who noted years ago that "The greatest resource of the ocean may well turn out to be the deep seawater itself!"

CONTACTING NELHA

Table IV summarizes appropriate people to contact for further information about NELHA. Our staff is poised to help you launch new projects that utilize our unique resources.

Table IV. CONTACTING NELHA

REFERENCES

[1] Penney, T.R. and T.H. Daniel, Energy from the Ocean: A Resource for the Future, Science and the Future: 1989 Yearbook, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1988, 98-111.

[2] Daniel, T.H., The Promise of OTEC and Its By-Products, in Proceedings of the 1994 Mie International Forum and Symposium on Global Environment and Friendly Energy Technology, Mie Academic Press, Tsu, Japan, 1994, p. 516-18.

[3] Daniel, T.H., New Seawater Delivery Systems at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii, Solar Engineering, A.H. Fanney and K.O. Lund, eds., Am. Soc. of Mech. Engrs., 1989, p.323-330.

[4] Lewis, L.L., J. Van Ryzin and L. Vega, "Steep Slope Seawater Supply Pipeline", Proceed- ings: Am Soc Civil Engineers 21st International Conference on Coastal Engineering, Costa del Sol-Malaga, Spain, June 20-25, 1988.

[5] Vega, L.A., G.C. Nihous, L.L. Lewis, A. Resnick and J. Van Ryzin, "OTEC Seawater Systems Technology Status," Proceedings, International Conference on Ocean Energy Recovery, Honolulu, Hawaii, Pub. by Am. Soc. of Civil Engrs., 1989, p.288-296.

[6] MCM Planning, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Alternative Methods of Seawater Return Flow Disposal, Prepared for NELH, March, 1987, 279 +xiv pp.

[7] Van Ryzin, J. and T. Leraand, "Air Conditioning with Deep Seawater: A Cost-Effective Alternative," Sea Technology, 33(8), September 1992, p.37-40.

[8] Van Ryzin, J. and T. Leraand, "Air Conditioning with Deep Seawater; A Reliable, Cost-Effective Technology," Proceedings: Oceans '91 Conference, Pub. by IEEE, 1991, 7p.