Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 3, 1 April 2009 — Humuʻula project to clear thorny nuisance, produce biofuel [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Humuʻula project to clear thorny nuisance, produce biofuel

By ī. Ilihia Giansan Publicatians Editur On 13,000 acres of Hawaiian home lands on the slopes of Mauna Kea grows the obnoxious gorse bush - a thick, thorny nuisance that chokes out other plants and takes over landscapes like wildlire. But Duke Kapuniai and his Humu'ula Renewable Energy Partnership are working to return the 'āina to productivity, and in so doing turn the weed into luel. A native of Europe and Africa, the gorse shrub was originally brought to Hawai'i in the early 1900s to act as inexpensive fencing to contain cattle. When Humu'ula was being used as ranchland, the gorse was maintained and controlled. But after ranching ceased on the slopes, the gorse ran amok. Previous natural and ehemieal attempts to control gorse's spread in the area have met with varied success.

Treesplantedtoshade i the gorse out of exis- £ tence were eventu- jijj ally taken over by B| the pest. Herbicide spread by helieop- ^ ter didn't make it to 1 the roots through the īhiek brush, so while the top of the plant died.

it grew back. tJI This project takes a more direct method to removing the gorse, whieh ranges from 4 to 6 feet in height - excavators with a rake-like attachment pull the īhiek bush out, roots and all. Then, using Flash Carbonization technology from Carbon Diversion, the project will convert the gorse into bioluel on site. A conservative estimate has the project pulling 58 to 72 tons of gorse from eaeh acre, whieh ean then be carbonized and processed into 21,000 to 26,000 gallons of synthetic diesel luel. The luel ean be used in any vehicle or

pieee of equipment that uses diesel, including the heavy machinery and processing plant that will be on the project site.

Weed that it is. gorse ean grow to a height of four feet in a matter of a year. Because of its quick growth and the extent of the gorse invasion, the project

to control the plant on the entire 13,000 acres could take decades. Luckily, as soon as the gorse is removed, the grass that was previously growing in the area sprouts back. Kapuniai, the project's manager, is starting with 1,000 acres of the most challenging terrain, and has been working on the project since January. His crew is improving the notoriously tough Manā Road so that equipment ean be brought up to the site and the product back down. Kapuniai's team consists of Native Hawaiian men and women of various ages and backgrounds from around Hawai'i Island. The workers are excited about being able to earn a living while helping Mother Earth. "I'm grateful to be working, and for the opportunity to give back to the 'āina while producing renewable energy." said Daniel Kahawaii, an equipment operator with the project. "I love my job." The Humu'ula Renewable Energy Partnership Project is managed by the nonprolit 'Ōiwi Lōkahi O Ka Mokupuni O Keawe with its partners, the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Carbon Diversion ine., Bacon Universal, Paeihe Crane and Equipment ine., and Innovative Tractor Werkes LLC. ■

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īhe thick, thorny gorse bush covers 1 3,000 acres of Hawaiian Home Lands in Humu'ula on the slopes of Mauna Kea, Hawai'i. - Photo: ī llihia Gionson