NELHA Gets Funding for Road, Pipe and Office Space

Gov. Neil Abercrombie has released $14 million for capital improvement projects at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii.

NELHA is a state agency that operates an ocean science and technology park at Keahole Point north of Kailua-Kona.

Its facilities include large pipelines that bring up cold water from a depth of 2,000 feet and others drawing warmer water from 45 feet below the surface for use in various forms of aquaculture.

The funding includes $9.7 million for construction of a 4,200-foot frontage road and connections to the Kaiminani Drive and Makako Bay Drive intersections on Queen Kaahamanu Highway.

Also released was $2.3 million to construct a 28-inch-diameter connector pipe between NELHA’s North and South cold-water piping systems, which currently operate independently. The work also includes establishment of a backup warm-water distribution system.

Another $1 million will be added to $3 million in federal grant funding for renovation of the administration building of NELHA’s Alternative Energy and Biotechnology Incubator. The project will create 10,000 square feet of leasable office space.

NELHA is also the site of several projects involving the use of ocean thermal energy conversion for the generation of electricity.