Hydroelectric

From dream-green.org Wiki

Hydroelectric Power

"Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by hydropower, i.e., the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, the project produces no direct waste, and has a considerably different output level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than fossil fuel powered energy plants. Worldwide, hydroelectricity suppled an estimated 715,000 MWe in 2005. This was aproximately 19% of the world's electricity (up from 16% in 2003), and accounted for over 63% of electricity from renewable sources." Wikipedia Usually one thinks of building a dam and using gravity to turn the turbines to produce electricity. However, wind could be used to pump water uphill to a high elevation and then use gravity to turn the turbines of a generator to produce electricity as the water flows back to the ocean. The Big Island of Hawaii could use the ocean for the water and pump water using windmills up to a high elevation and then let gravity produce the power to generate electricity in turbines.

This could be done so that there is no environmental impact on the sea life in the water by taking careful steps to prevent damage to the ocean life. Windmills could be utilized to pump the water uphill and gravity used to turn the turbines. This is a viable project that could be done at Ocean View, Hawaii. Windmills could be placed either offshore or on land to pump water to a high elevation above Ocean View in large above ground pipes to a storage facility and then released in pipes back to the ocean. A large turbine generator plant could be set up to produce electricity for the HELCO grid and for the many residences in Ocean View without power.

This is a viable alternative to using fossil fuels to generate electricity on the Big Island.