Showing posts with label Public Information. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Public Information. Show all posts
Jul 26, 2008
Lawsuits filed against parent company of HuHonua
Numerous lawsuits have been filed in 2008 claiming that Municipal Mortgage & Equity LLC management intentionally misrepresented the value of the company's assets and its profits. As a result, the stock price was artificially inflated and subsequently declined sharply. Named in the lawsuit are most of the major corporate officers, including the audit committee.
Also known as MuniMae, the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in February 2008, former trading symbol: MMAB. Shares can be purchased via the "pink sheets". Daily Record, The (Baltimore, MD), May 06, 2008
According to a press release dated January 31, 2008, the complaint charges that MMA and certain of its present and former officers, directors, and control persons violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing materially false and misleading statements pertaining to MMA's business prospects, financial condition, and financial performance.
full story here
Lawsuits have the disadvantage of taking corporate officers' time away from running the business in order to defend themselves; they take corporate funds to defend them; they lower market confidence in the company and make it harder to obtain business credit and loans for operations; and they can result in the sale of corporate assets if penalized.
Also known as MuniMae, the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in February 2008, former trading symbol: MMAB. Shares can be purchased via the "pink sheets". Daily Record, The (Baltimore, MD), May 06, 2008
According to a press release dated January 31, 2008, the complaint charges that MMA and certain of its present and former officers, directors, and control persons violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing materially false and misleading statements pertaining to MMA's business prospects, financial condition, and financial performance.
full story here
Lawsuits have the disadvantage of taking corporate officers' time away from running the business in order to defend themselves; they take corporate funds to defend them; they lower market confidence in the company and make it harder to obtain business credit and loans for operations; and they can result in the sale of corporate assets if penalized.
Jul 20, 2008
Hawaii Tribune-Herald July 14, 2008
HELCO aims for renewable island energy
by Cameron Johnson
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
Published: Monday, July 14, 2008 9:58 AM HST
Company wants to generate electricity from isle biomass
An Ookala biomass power plant and Hawaii Electric Light Co. have signed 20-year power purchasing agreement, and HELCO is talking with two other Hamakua groups planning to burn plant matter to produce electricity.
The Tradewinds Forest Products plant is expected to add 2 megawatts of electricity to the grid beginning in October 2010, said Curtis Beck, manager of the HELCO energy services department.
"We understand they may try to process their forest products earlier than that, and bring on their generating unit a little bit later," said Beck.
*
HELCO is also in talks with Hamakua Biomass Energy, which is looking to build a plant near Paauilo, and Hu Honua Bioenergy, which has started work to reconfigure the Pepeekeo sugar mill plant to burn biomass instead of coal and fuel oil, said Jay Ignacio, HELCO president.
The Pepeekeo plant will produce 24 megawatts, and the proposed Paauilo plant will produce 30 megawatts, according to the companies.
"At this point, any additional generation sources that we would add to the system, we would like it to be from a renewable source," Ignacio said. "Adding additional renewable generation sources at lower cost than fossil fuel is moving in the right direction. That's the direction we are going at HELCO."
When asked if the island can supply three biomass burning plants, Ignacio said: "So far, all the people who have proposed (it) to us say they can. The question is: are they competing for the same fuel supply? We don't know."
Each company must show it has a sustainable supply of biofuel, Ignacio said.
"They won't be competing for our fuel because our fuel is under contract," said Don Brian, CEO of Tradewinds.
Brian said Tradewinds plans to have its eucalyptus veneer plant working by mid-2009. Its power plant, which will burn tree waste, should be operational the following year. Tradewinds does not yet have a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency.
"You can't build without an air permit in hand," Brian said. "We think it's on its way to us, and we expect to see something here shortly."
The Tradewinds plant will be on the outskirts of Ookala, on the old sugar mill site.
HELCO has enough power generation to meet the Big Island's needs now, and doesn't foresee a need for new generation until 2022, Ignacio said. HELCO itself is considering using biofuels in its existing plants and is evaluating tests done by sister companies Maui Electric Co. and Hawaiian Electric Co.
"Basically, we're subject to state law and the renewable portfolio standards," said Curtis Beck, manager of HELCO's energy services department. The state has required HELCO have 20 percent renewable generation by 2020.
It turns out -- based on 2007 numbers, HELCO is already at 31 percent, and will be at 35 percent later this year, Beck said.
The Big Island has so much renewable energy production, said Beck, Maui and Oahu can use the Big Island's production to offset their lack of renewable energy. It's a complicated equation, he said, "but we're working to see how we can collectively reach that (20 percent mark)."
HELCO is not under any obligation to purchase electricity from these biomass power plants, Beck said, but "it's a policy that any further regeneration we build or purchase will be renewable, which is why we're interested in the Hu Honua project."
HELCO's power
HELCO's sources of renewable power and how much energy each creates:
- Puna Geothermal -Venture:
30 megawatts in Kapoho
- Wailuku River
Hydroelectric Power Co.:
11 megawatts plant in Hilo (though it is not
producing that now due to lack of rain)
- Two HELCO-owned hydroelectric plants:
Puueo produces 3.2 megawatts; and Waiau 1.1 megawatts
- Hawi Renewable
Development:
10-megawatt wind farm
- Apollo Wind Co.'s
Pakini Nui plant at South Point:
20 megawatts
- Coming online in 2010: Tradewinds Forest Products Ookala
biomass plant:
2 megawatts
by Cameron Johnson
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
Published: Monday, July 14, 2008 9:58 AM HST
Company wants to generate electricity from isle biomass
An Ookala biomass power plant and Hawaii Electric Light Co. have signed 20-year power purchasing agreement, and HELCO is talking with two other Hamakua groups planning to burn plant matter to produce electricity.
The Tradewinds Forest Products plant is expected to add 2 megawatts of electricity to the grid beginning in October 2010, said Curtis Beck, manager of the HELCO energy services department.
"We understand they may try to process their forest products earlier than that, and bring on their generating unit a little bit later," said Beck.
*
HELCO is also in talks with Hamakua Biomass Energy, which is looking to build a plant near Paauilo, and Hu Honua Bioenergy, which has started work to reconfigure the Pepeekeo sugar mill plant to burn biomass instead of coal and fuel oil, said Jay Ignacio, HELCO president.
The Pepeekeo plant will produce 24 megawatts, and the proposed Paauilo plant will produce 30 megawatts, according to the companies.
"At this point, any additional generation sources that we would add to the system, we would like it to be from a renewable source," Ignacio said. "Adding additional renewable generation sources at lower cost than fossil fuel is moving in the right direction. That's the direction we are going at HELCO."
When asked if the island can supply three biomass burning plants, Ignacio said: "So far, all the people who have proposed (it) to us say they can. The question is: are they competing for the same fuel supply? We don't know."
Each company must show it has a sustainable supply of biofuel, Ignacio said.
"They won't be competing for our fuel because our fuel is under contract," said Don Brian, CEO of Tradewinds.
Brian said Tradewinds plans to have its eucalyptus veneer plant working by mid-2009. Its power plant, which will burn tree waste, should be operational the following year. Tradewinds does not yet have a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency.
"You can't build without an air permit in hand," Brian said. "We think it's on its way to us, and we expect to see something here shortly."
The Tradewinds plant will be on the outskirts of Ookala, on the old sugar mill site.
HELCO has enough power generation to meet the Big Island's needs now, and doesn't foresee a need for new generation until 2022, Ignacio said. HELCO itself is considering using biofuels in its existing plants and is evaluating tests done by sister companies Maui Electric Co. and Hawaiian Electric Co.
"Basically, we're subject to state law and the renewable portfolio standards," said Curtis Beck, manager of HELCO's energy services department. The state has required HELCO have 20 percent renewable generation by 2020.
It turns out -- based on 2007 numbers, HELCO is already at 31 percent, and will be at 35 percent later this year, Beck said.
The Big Island has so much renewable energy production, said Beck, Maui and Oahu can use the Big Island's production to offset their lack of renewable energy. It's a complicated equation, he said, "but we're working to see how we can collectively reach that (20 percent mark)."
HELCO is not under any obligation to purchase electricity from these biomass power plants, Beck said, but "it's a policy that any further regeneration we build or purchase will be renewable, which is why we're interested in the Hu Honua project."
HELCO's power
HELCO's sources of renewable power and how much energy each creates:
- Puna Geothermal -Venture:
30 megawatts in Kapoho
- Wailuku River
Hydroelectric Power Co.:
11 megawatts plant in Hilo (though it is not
producing that now due to lack of rain)
- Two HELCO-owned hydroelectric plants:
Puueo produces 3.2 megawatts; and Waiau 1.1 megawatts
- Hawi Renewable
Development:
10-megawatt wind farm
- Apollo Wind Co.'s
Pakini Nui plant at South Point:
20 megawatts
- Coming online in 2010: Tradewinds Forest Products Ookala
biomass plant:
2 megawatts
Hawaii Tribune-Herald July 20, 2008
Biomass is limited
Published: Sunday, July 20, 2008 7:35 AM HST
Regarding the July 12 article, Pepeekeo electricity plant aims to reopen, a question pops to mind: Just how sustainable does Hu Honua think biomass is?
Today, with high fuel and energy prices and a general move towards everything "green" and "renewable," some companies are using these labels as a marketing ploy to try to sell us products or technologies which are far from being "green" at all. Hu Honua seems to be telling us that their plant will be using "100 percent biomass," and that the goal is to "burn a clean, sustainable fuel." Burning wood, according to Hu Honua, puts out "10 to 20 times less particulate matter than a coal-burning plant," but that does not necessarily mean that it is a clean burning fuel. Burning wood generates CO2, ash, methane, CO (if the combustion is not 100 percent efficient), N2O and some other greenhouse gases.
Another issue is that numbers in the article don't seem to add up. They call for three trucks per hour of biomass (72 trucks per day, assuming a typical round-the-clock operating schedule). They claim that they will use unusable materials from the eucalyptus timber and other green waste. Is Hu Honua telling us that the eucalyptus forest can regenerate at the rate of three trucks per hour? Because if not, then it is not a sustainable fuel. Yes, they mention that 50,000 tons of green waste are going into the Hilo land fill every year. Sounds like a lot, right? But, even if they were able to capture 100 percent of those 50,000 tons, that translates to less than six tons per hour (not even one of the three trucks per hour they need) and that is only if (and that is a big if) they manage to collect 100 percent of the green waste, and if it is all usable.
*
One more question: What effect will this have on the average homeowner's electrical bill? Will the Pepeekeo plant lower our costs?
We should be investing in true renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric. The government should give better incentives to homeowners for photovoltaic (PV) residential units (similar to the incentives for water heaters). Adding PV systems to homes would take off a significant load off the grid. We should be thinking progressively, and wood burning does not seem to be a step in the right direction.
It's time we start coming up with some creative ideas to help the Big Island residents ease off the current energy crunch. Burning fuel seems to be the least creative solution, perhaps the path of least resistance, but it does not seem to be a long-term truly sustainable solution.
Rodrigo F.V. Romo
Hilo
Published: Sunday, July 20, 2008 7:35 AM HST
Regarding the July 12 article, Pepeekeo electricity plant aims to reopen, a question pops to mind: Just how sustainable does Hu Honua think biomass is?
Today, with high fuel and energy prices and a general move towards everything "green" and "renewable," some companies are using these labels as a marketing ploy to try to sell us products or technologies which are far from being "green" at all. Hu Honua seems to be telling us that their plant will be using "100 percent biomass," and that the goal is to "burn a clean, sustainable fuel." Burning wood, according to Hu Honua, puts out "10 to 20 times less particulate matter than a coal-burning plant," but that does not necessarily mean that it is a clean burning fuel. Burning wood generates CO2, ash, methane, CO (if the combustion is not 100 percent efficient), N2O and some other greenhouse gases.
Another issue is that numbers in the article don't seem to add up. They call for three trucks per hour of biomass (72 trucks per day, assuming a typical round-the-clock operating schedule). They claim that they will use unusable materials from the eucalyptus timber and other green waste. Is Hu Honua telling us that the eucalyptus forest can regenerate at the rate of three trucks per hour? Because if not, then it is not a sustainable fuel. Yes, they mention that 50,000 tons of green waste are going into the Hilo land fill every year. Sounds like a lot, right? But, even if they were able to capture 100 percent of those 50,000 tons, that translates to less than six tons per hour (not even one of the three trucks per hour they need) and that is only if (and that is a big if) they manage to collect 100 percent of the green waste, and if it is all usable.
*
One more question: What effect will this have on the average homeowner's electrical bill? Will the Pepeekeo plant lower our costs?
We should be investing in true renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric. The government should give better incentives to homeowners for photovoltaic (PV) residential units (similar to the incentives for water heaters). Adding PV systems to homes would take off a significant load off the grid. We should be thinking progressively, and wood burning does not seem to be a step in the right direction.
It's time we start coming up with some creative ideas to help the Big Island residents ease off the current energy crunch. Burning fuel seems to be the least creative solution, perhaps the path of least resistance, but it does not seem to be a long-term truly sustainable solution.
Rodrigo F.V. Romo
Hilo
Jul 18, 2008
Jul 12, 2008
Herald-Tribune July 12, 2008
Pepeekeo electricity plant aims to reopen
by Cameron Johnson
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, July 12, 2008 7:24 AM HST
Neighbors worry about pollution, noise and traffic
Clean-up and renovation of Pepeekeo's former sugar plantation power plant began Monday by a company planning to make electricity by burning wood and plant material.
Hu Honua Bioenergy wants to reconfigure and reopen the 24-megawatt plant by December 2010, a move some neighbors fear will decrease air quality and increase traffic.
It will take three trucks an hour coming from the Paauilo area to fuel the Pepeekeo plant with biomass.
*
"Because of the emissions, this is not just a Hamakua Coast issue -- the fallout goes to Hilo," said power plant neighbor Bobbye St. Ambrogio. "Hilo's going to be stuck between the vog and the power plant smoke."
Hu Honua made a presentation Wednesday night to members of the Pepeekeo Homeowner's Association. One woman asked them to consider the power plant's impact on generations to come.
"It's different now (in Pepeekeo)," the woman said. "It's not a compatible use. This is a quiet, wonderful little community."
Dan KenKnight, director of Hu Honua, said everyone who moved into the area should have known a power plant is located at the bottom of Sugar Mill Road.
"We're not bringing something back that was never anticipated," KenKnight said. "It stopped in 2004 and the facility has been there. It's not fair to say the community just grew up around it."
Hu Honua wants to burn nut shells, wood waste and invasive plant material as well as agricultural and landscaping waste, KenKnight said
All of which depends on whether Hu Honua can strike a deal to sell its electricity to Hawaiia Electric Light Co.
The last time smoke passed through the stack was 2004, before Hilo Coast Power Co. shut the plant down because Hawaii Electric Light Co. decided not to renew its power-purchasing contract.
In 2005, new owners Pacific Rim Energy Partners sought federal Environmental Protection Agency permits to burn biomass. That effort ended when Oahu-based Ethanol Research Hawaii purchased the plant, now co-owned by ERH and MMA Renewable Ventures, KenKnight said.
MMA Renewable Ventures, headquartered in Baltimore, is wholly owned by Municipal Mortgage and Equity LLC also of Baltimore.
Once operational, the Pepeekeo plant will power 18,000 homes and account for between 7 percent and 10 percent of the Big Island's power, said Mark Higgins, Hu Honua's vice president of finance.
By burning unusable materials from the eucalyptus timber industry and other green waste, Hu Honua claims it will save HELCO from burning 225,000 to 250,000 barrels of oil a year.
For the next 12 to 18 months specialists will inspect the equipment to see what needs to be replaced or updated, said engineer Tim Formaz.
Several Pepeekeo residents expressed concern that coal would be burned once the island's biofuel supply has been exhausted.
The goal is to burn 100 percent biomass, said Tim Lasocki, Hu Honua's vice president of bioenergy business development. Coal will be on-site in case of natural disasters. If the supply of biomass is disrupted for more than a few days, he said, the plant would burn coal.
"If we're burning coal, we're losing money," Lasocki said.
The biomass plant will put 10 to 20 times less particulate matter into the air than a coal-burning plant, KenKnight said. The goal, he said, is to burn a clean, sustainable fuel.
Hu Honua can't take advantage of federal tax credits if coal is the primary fuel, Higgins said.
The plant still has a permit, secured by Hilo Coast Power in 2004, allowing it to burn coal and fuel oil, said Nolan Hirai, supervisor of the engineering section of the Clean Air Branch of the state Department of Health.
"It's still valid," Hirai said. "If someone wanted to operate under the current permit without any changes, that would be legal."
To burn biomass, however, Hu Honua needs an amendment to the plant's EPA permit, Hirai said. That could take anywhere from "three months to a year, and sometimes longer, depending on how complete the application is."
The state will look at the air quality assessments, review the plant's operations and consider public comment, Hirai said. The emission limits will be assessed.
"It's hard to compare the different fuels (biomass and coal) until you know the combustion process and the air pollution controls you have," Hirai said.
Wednesday's meeting with Pepeekeo residents in the Kulaimano Community Center was the third Hu Honua representatives have had with residents.
"Every time we meet with them, they rework their presentation to meet our questions," St. Ambrogio said. (Hu Honua is) just using us. When they do go before HELCO, they will have carefully crafted their message and will have all the right answers. They are sucking out the information from the community."
Not all at the meeting were unhappy with Hu Honua's plan. One man asked representatives if they will be hiring past plant workers. KenKnight said the company will hire only area workers and area contractors.
Some asked what the company will do to compensate for the additional traffic and emissions. Some proposed that Hu Honua build a bike trail or a playground.
KenKnight said 50,000 tons of green waste are going into the Hilo landfill every year. Hu Honua is not looking for grasses to burn, but the "more woody stuff."
One banana farmer at the meeting had concerns with biomass being trucked to Pepeekeo because it could bring in invasive pests. Also, he was concerned with the dust that could end up in his catchment water.
One woman was concerned about the health risks of raising four children within sight of the stacks.
Burning wood represents an 80 percent decrease in the output of sulfur dioxides over coal, Lasocki said.
St. Ambrogio wondered if any Hu Honua representatives would like to live across the street from her.
"Would you build a million dollar house on the ocean right across from me and let your children breathe that air?" St. Ambrogio said.
E-mail Cameron Johnson at cjohnson@hawaiitribune--herald.com.
by Cameron Johnson
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, July 12, 2008 7:24 AM HST
Neighbors worry about pollution, noise and traffic
Clean-up and renovation of Pepeekeo's former sugar plantation power plant began Monday by a company planning to make electricity by burning wood and plant material.
Hu Honua Bioenergy wants to reconfigure and reopen the 24-megawatt plant by December 2010, a move some neighbors fear will decrease air quality and increase traffic.
It will take three trucks an hour coming from the Paauilo area to fuel the Pepeekeo plant with biomass.
*
"Because of the emissions, this is not just a Hamakua Coast issue -- the fallout goes to Hilo," said power plant neighbor Bobbye St. Ambrogio. "Hilo's going to be stuck between the vog and the power plant smoke."
Hu Honua made a presentation Wednesday night to members of the Pepeekeo Homeowner's Association. One woman asked them to consider the power plant's impact on generations to come.
"It's different now (in Pepeekeo)," the woman said. "It's not a compatible use. This is a quiet, wonderful little community."
Dan KenKnight, director of Hu Honua, said everyone who moved into the area should have known a power plant is located at the bottom of Sugar Mill Road.
"We're not bringing something back that was never anticipated," KenKnight said. "It stopped in 2004 and the facility has been there. It's not fair to say the community just grew up around it."
Hu Honua wants to burn nut shells, wood waste and invasive plant material as well as agricultural and landscaping waste, KenKnight said
All of which depends on whether Hu Honua can strike a deal to sell its electricity to Hawaiia Electric Light Co.
The last time smoke passed through the stack was 2004, before Hilo Coast Power Co. shut the plant down because Hawaii Electric Light Co. decided not to renew its power-purchasing contract.
In 2005, new owners Pacific Rim Energy Partners sought federal Environmental Protection Agency permits to burn biomass. That effort ended when Oahu-based Ethanol Research Hawaii purchased the plant, now co-owned by ERH and MMA Renewable Ventures, KenKnight said.
MMA Renewable Ventures, headquartered in Baltimore, is wholly owned by Municipal Mortgage and Equity LLC also of Baltimore.
Once operational, the Pepeekeo plant will power 18,000 homes and account for between 7 percent and 10 percent of the Big Island's power, said Mark Higgins, Hu Honua's vice president of finance.
By burning unusable materials from the eucalyptus timber industry and other green waste, Hu Honua claims it will save HELCO from burning 225,000 to 250,000 barrels of oil a year.
For the next 12 to 18 months specialists will inspect the equipment to see what needs to be replaced or updated, said engineer Tim Formaz.
Several Pepeekeo residents expressed concern that coal would be burned once the island's biofuel supply has been exhausted.
The goal is to burn 100 percent biomass, said Tim Lasocki, Hu Honua's vice president of bioenergy business development. Coal will be on-site in case of natural disasters. If the supply of biomass is disrupted for more than a few days, he said, the plant would burn coal.
"If we're burning coal, we're losing money," Lasocki said.
The biomass plant will put 10 to 20 times less particulate matter into the air than a coal-burning plant, KenKnight said. The goal, he said, is to burn a clean, sustainable fuel.
Hu Honua can't take advantage of federal tax credits if coal is the primary fuel, Higgins said.
The plant still has a permit, secured by Hilo Coast Power in 2004, allowing it to burn coal and fuel oil, said Nolan Hirai, supervisor of the engineering section of the Clean Air Branch of the state Department of Health.
"It's still valid," Hirai said. "If someone wanted to operate under the current permit without any changes, that would be legal."
To burn biomass, however, Hu Honua needs an amendment to the plant's EPA permit, Hirai said. That could take anywhere from "three months to a year, and sometimes longer, depending on how complete the application is."
The state will look at the air quality assessments, review the plant's operations and consider public comment, Hirai said. The emission limits will be assessed.
"It's hard to compare the different fuels (biomass and coal) until you know the combustion process and the air pollution controls you have," Hirai said.
Wednesday's meeting with Pepeekeo residents in the Kulaimano Community Center was the third Hu Honua representatives have had with residents.
"Every time we meet with them, they rework their presentation to meet our questions," St. Ambrogio said. (Hu Honua is) just using us. When they do go before HELCO, they will have carefully crafted their message and will have all the right answers. They are sucking out the information from the community."
Not all at the meeting were unhappy with Hu Honua's plan. One man asked representatives if they will be hiring past plant workers. KenKnight said the company will hire only area workers and area contractors.
Some asked what the company will do to compensate for the additional traffic and emissions. Some proposed that Hu Honua build a bike trail or a playground.
KenKnight said 50,000 tons of green waste are going into the Hilo landfill every year. Hu Honua is not looking for grasses to burn, but the "more woody stuff."
One banana farmer at the meeting had concerns with biomass being trucked to Pepeekeo because it could bring in invasive pests. Also, he was concerned with the dust that could end up in his catchment water.
One woman was concerned about the health risks of raising four children within sight of the stacks.
Burning wood represents an 80 percent decrease in the output of sulfur dioxides over coal, Lasocki said.
St. Ambrogio wondered if any Hu Honua representatives would like to live across the street from her.
"Would you build a million dollar house on the ocean right across from me and let your children breathe that air?" St. Ambrogio said.
E-mail Cameron Johnson at cjohnson@hawaiitribune--herald.com.
