Geothermal is Hawaiʻi Island’s second largest source of renewable power, trailing only solar.
Generally, geothermal power is harnessed by drilling deep below the Earth's surface into underground water reservoirs that are heated by volcanic activity. Steam from those reservoirs can used to turn turbines to produce electricity.
Scientists think that the energy the island currently uses may be a fraction of the resource’s potential, and an abundance of geothermal power could lie below land set aside for Hawaiian homesteads.
“We know we have the resource. We don't know how much we have of it, but we know we have the resource here,” said Makai Freitas, West Hawaiʻi commissioner for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
DHHL would have control over any geothermal found under land in its trust. Freitas thinks it could end up being a big economic opportunity for the department.
“It can advance us. We don't have to go to the state Legislature every year asking for money like every other state department does,” Freitas said. “We can start basically an internal revenue stream that's constant for generations.”
“We’re not relying on anybody else. That’d be huge for our people,” he said.
Expanding the use of geothermal power could offer broad benefits, like reducing energy costs for residents and cutting carbon emissions from the grid. But Freitas is only interested in moving forward with new geothermal projects if they will make a difference for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries.
“If this does come to fruition, what benefits are Native Hawaiians gonna see? Is it life-changing benefits, or is it just 'Here's just a break electric bill?'” Freitas said. “For me, it's got to be a life-changing advancement. This is a big deal.”
Luke Cassidy said he’s seen the benefits geothermal power can offer Indigenous communities “first-hand” as the operations manager for Ngati Tuwharetoa Geothermal Assets in Kawerau, Aotearoa.
The Tuwharetoa mai Kawerau ki te Tai trust purchased the geothermal facility in 2005, making it one of the first operations to be owned outright by a Māori tribe, or iwi.
“We now are quite a successful small business, 100% iwi-owned,” Cassidy said.
With revenue from its geothermal facility, the Tuwharetoa mai Kawerau ki te Tai trust has started building houses for its beneficiaries, with a plan to complete 30 new homes over the next two years. It has also purchased a 25% share in a medical center to expand health care opportunities and provides a range of grants to students and local sports teams.
The trust is expected to come into a huge windfall as it expands its geothermal operation over the next few years.
“The trust will have so much money, it will be unbelievable. They won't know what to do with it,” Cassidy said.
Freitas is encouraged by stories like Tuwharetoa Geothermal, but he acknowledged that tapping into geothermal on Hawaiian Home Lands may be a tough sell.
Previous geothermal proposals on Hawaiʻi Island have been met with vocal community opposition, including from some Native Hawaiians who feel the process of extracting geothermal resources violates sacred land.
“Some people feel that it's a desecration to Pele,” Freitas said. “We have to take their manaʻo into consideration.”
Early outreach efforts to Native Hawaiian beneficiaries about geothermal’s potential have received “mixed results,” according to Freitas, but he's hopeful that people will approach the conversation with an open mind.
Cassidy said many in his community also had concerns when the iwi first purchased its geothermal facility two decades ago. While more people are now supportive, Cassidy said that it’s been a long journey to build that broad base of trust.
“Change is difficult, but it's a reality,” he said. “It takes a long time. I'm talking about years.”
Freitas wants to create a conversation around geothermal energy where Native Hawaiians are truly in the driver’s seat, even if it means saying no to new projects.
“If it's not something that's going to really drastically move our people and our beneficiaries towards self-sufficiency and self-determination, it's a no-go,” he said.
