Merging Forces: NELH and HOST Park Become NELHA

The period of 1989-90 marked a transformative conclusion to NELH's independent existence as commercial operations reached unprecedented scale. Employment at the Kona site grew to 143 people with 44 acres developed by the private sector, while eighteen new projects launched across both Keahole Point and Puna. Major commercial expansions included Cyanotech's full 15-acre development with BASF partnership for astaxanthin production, Royal Hawaiian Sea Farms distributing over a ton of algae weekly, and Ocean Farms of Hawaii adding four new seawater pipelines. OTEC research achieved breakthroughs in heat exchanger cost reduction through ALCAN testing, while new ventures explored everything from solar desalination to pearl cultivation. The era culminated on July 1, 1990, when NELH merged with HOST Park to create the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA), ending NELH's independent chapter while positioning the facility for continued growth as a unified ocean science and technology center.

Highlights:

• Sea Grant publishes “OTEC Aquaculture in Hawaii” in November 1988.
• Cyanotech is fully developed on 15 acres with 16 raceways for microalgae. In 1988 they begin developing astaxanthin with BASF.
• RHSF adds ʻele ʻele to their commercial algae business and expands to two acres, distributing more than a ton of product a week.
• Uwajima Fisheries/Yonezawa Suisan build out their one-acre site for hirame flounder production.
• Alstroemeria flowers are added to the strawberries and lettuces grown within the NELH compound using cold seawater condensate.
• EPRI provides funding for an HNEI project in early 1989 that investigates the possibility of using algae to remove carbon dioxide from fossil fuel exhaust gases.
• ALCAN begins testing roll-bonded aluminum elements for heat exchangers at NELH in January 1989.
• HMTSTA Phase II experiments develop data that are incorporated into the design of the Net Power Producing Experiment planned for construction at NELH.
• The Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council designs and constructs an experimental solar desalination system in Milolii.
• OFC pipeline deployments are completed in this FY with a total of six 6,000-ft. pipelines, and three more 4-acre ponds are constructed.
• At OTEC, Alcan closed-cycle materials testing announces a breakthrough in the reduction of heat exchanger costs.
• Closed-cycle OTEC analysis shows that most aluminum alloys do not develop pitting in warm surface seawater, but significant pitting appears in most alloys tested in deep coldwater.
• The 3-megawatt HGP-A power plant at the NELH Puna facility is shut down and the geothermal well temporarily closed in December 1989. The sale of the power plant will provide funds for refurbishment of the site and remaining buildings.
• DOE funding is discontinued in December 1989.
• Projects funded under CGNP were in various stages of development when the HGP-A well operation was terminated in December 1989.
• NELH significantly expands water quality lab staff, facilities, and instrumentation during 1989 and 1990.
• NELH merges with HOST Park to create NELHA. The newly created Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, with a new Board and Chairman, is established on July 1, 1990. Dr. John Craven is recognized for his service.
• This is the last report of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii as an independent entity of the State of Hawaii. NELH merges with HOST Park to create NELHA.
• Notable clients to date have been the Federal Sea Grant Program, the Department of Energy, the Solar Energy Research Institute, Argonne National Laboratories, the General Electric Corporation of Great Britain, the Aluminum Company of Canada, and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
• Eighteen new projects are approved: fifteen at Keahole Point and three at the Puna Research Center.
• Sixty-three acres of land at NELH are committed to specific tenants.
• Four more seawater pipelines are deployed to Ocean Farms of Hawaii.
• The Kona site now employs 143 people, and there are 44 acres developed by the private sector.
• NELH Honolulu office closes and transfers all administration to Kona in April of 1990.
• A Cooperative Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) for the Keahole area is initiated in 1990.
• Savings from the cold seawater air conditioning system now provide an average savings of $400 a month.
• Sogi International receives approval for a research program on ethanol from cane sugar molasses using solar stills cooled with cold seawater for distillation.
• YORK Air Conditioning develops an idea for a freon recycling system using a solar boiler and cold seawater.
• Dewani Lauro Marine Products receives final approval of their edible seaweeds commercial facility at NELH in March 1990 and begins construction.
• D/S Ventures tests the possibility of culturing edible sea cucumbers (namako).
• Sea Farms of Hawaii grows tilapia with oysters in a prototype tank.
• Hawaii Seafood Growers begins test marketing of mahi mahi grown at NELH.
• Hawaii Cultured Pearls begins research project using mixtures of seawater.
• Microbio Resources tests Dunaliella haematococcus microalgae growth in culture ponds at NELH, starting in June 1990.
• The ʻOpihi Project concludes.