Pono Pacific Land Management and the Hawaiʻi Agriculture Research Center are continuing trials to see if camelina can be viably cultivated in Hawaiʻi as feedstock for biofuel.
Camelina is an oilseed crop in the mustard family with low water and fertilizer needs that can be harvested about 70 days after planting. It’s already in cultivation in temperate regions, but has not been widely grown in Hawaiʻi or other places with tropical climates.
Over the past two years, Pono Pacific and the Hawaiʻi Agriculture Research Center have grown camelina at a handful of test sites across the islands.
Chris Bennett, vice president of sustainable energy for Pono Pacific, said the trials are trying to determine the ideal local conditions for camelina to maximize its potential to succeed in Hawaiʻi as a new commercial crop.
So far, an acre of camelina at the most fruitful test sites is producing about 1,200 pounds of seeds, which makes 64 gallons of camelina oil. Bennett said trials through 2026 will try to raise harvests up to 1,500 pounds per acre.
Camelina oil can be used as a substitute for conventional fossil fuels in the production of sustainable aviation fuel or other fuel alternatives.
The state's only petroleum refinery, Par Hawaii, is in the process of retrofitting part of its facilities in Kapolei on Oʻahu to produce biofuels. Pono Pacific has an agreement with Par to try to develop a source of local feedstocks for their new biofuel operation.
Alaska and Hawaiian airlines have committed to powering their flights in part with sustainable aviation fuel produced by Par Hawaii, though local production likely can’t be scaled up to meet their entire demand.
"We do not, in any way, claim that we're going to be able to grow enough local feedstocks to 100% supply Par here in Hawaiʻi, and that's not our intent," Bennett said. "Our intent is to grow a new industry from the ground up and be able to supply as much as we can locally."
The Hawaiʻi Agriculture Research Center formed over a century ago to support the sugarcane industry. Nathan Fumia, the head of HARC's crop improvement division, said that their partnership with the Pono Pacific project gives HARC the opportunity to revamp some of the investigations it previously conducted on the bioenergy applications of sugarcane.
But unlike sugarcane, Fumia said camelina doesn't make sense as a monoculture crop.
Fumia expects that local farmers would get the greatest benefit from camelina by rotating it with other seasonal crops, like sweet potato.
"It's definitely going to fit more into a diversified agricultural system," he said.
