by Wainanae Traub

1. Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii
Authority (NELHA)
• Established in 1974 this 322 acre facility was created to
provide a support facility for research on the ocean thermal
energy conversion (OTEC) process
• State's most innovative ocean science and technology park
• Sustainable industries for the 21st Century
– Solar Energy
– Aquaculture
– Marine Biotechnology
– Coldwater Agriculture
• Landlord to nearly 30 thriving enterprises
– Generates about $30-40 million per year in total economic
impact
– Over 200 jobs

2. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
(OTEC)
• The world's leading facility for this area of research
and development.
• Two pipeline systems pump deep and surface
seawater to shore 24/7. Cold deep seawater (DSW) is
delivered onshore at 6ºC (43ºF) from a 2,000-foot
depth.
• OTEC uses the difference between cold deep
seawater and warm surface seawater to run a heat
engine and produce useful work, in the form of
electricity.

3. NELHA’s Mission
"To develop and diversify the Hawaii economy
by providing resources and facilities for energy
and ocean-related research, education, and
commercial activities in an environmentally
sound and culturally sensitive manner."
• NELHA is located in the sunniest coastal area in the U.S.
• NELHA tenants utilize solar technology and/or dual temperature sea
water systems (DSW and surface water) to support sustainable
industries.
• In 1994 the West Hawaii Explorations Academy (WHEA) was
established at NELHA to take advantage of the many resources of
this growing ocean science and technology community.

4. West Hawaii Explorations
Academy
(WHEA)
•Nationally recognized laboratory school
•Science-focused, outdoor, hands-on education
•Self-directed learning environment
•Located in the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii
Authority (NELHA)
•Hawaii’s first charter high school

5. Photovoltaic Solar
Panels
• WHEA is powered by a 10 KW photovoltaic system
• Average output of approximately 50 KWH per day AC
• Supplies 110 percent of school needs at peak hours
• WHEA sells the excess electricity back to the Hawaii
Electric and Light Company
• WHEA is located in the sunniest coastal area in the U.S.

6. Student Directed Projects
• Over 50 Sustainability-related projects
• Environmentally focused
• Sustainable Designs
– Recycled Materials
– Solar Powered
– Drip irrigation through cold ag condensation
– Water Recirculation Systems

7. WHEA Projects Implementing
Sustainable Practices
• Aloha Kai • Opihi
• Anchialine Ponds • Outdoor Ed.
• Aquaponics • Plankton
• Cold Ag • Recycled Boat
• Cold Ag Aquaponics • Reef Teach
• Cold Ag Hydroponics • Robotics
• Coral Diseases • School Gardens
• Fish Fertilizer • Shark Lagoon
• Geo-Dome • Snorkel Survey
• Green Team • Solar Cookers
• Hydroponics • Spuds
• Invasive Algae • Tide Pool Survey
• Malama Lama • Turtle Survey
• Medicinal Plants • Urchin Survey
• Native Ponds • Water Quality
• Nursery
• O’oma Forest
• Ogo

8. Gardening Projects
• Organic Fertilizers
• Inspires students to grow their own food
• Forest Restoration
• Farmer’s Market
• Efficient use of water
– Cold Ag drip irrigation
– Water Recirculation
– Polyculture
– Use of Aquaculture Effluent

9. Coldwater Agriculture Gardens
•Series of gardens watered by the condensation of coldwater agriculture provided by
NELHA . The condensation from the pipes chills the soil dramatically increasing yields for
land-based crops.

10. Aquaponics
• Efficient and sustainable way of
farming
• Powered by a solar pump
• Water recirculation using
aquaculture effluent
• Promotes sustainability for our
Island

11. Geo-Dome
•Cold Agriculture Hydroponics
•Water Recirculation System
•Solar Powered
•Plants watered by cold ag pipes

12. Green Team
• Promotes sustainability at WHEA and in
students lives outside of school
• Records plastic bottle use and water use on
campus
• Created a public service announcement
commercial to promote reusable shopping
bags
• Organized a light bulb exchange
• In-charge of the school’s recycling

13. Aloha Kai Educational Tours
Aloha Kai Tours are run entirely by high school
students who give mini-lessons in marine and
environmental science relating to campus
projects. Aloha Kai serves nearly 2,000 visiting
students, parents, and teachers annually.

15. Off-Campus Survey Projects
• The purpose of survey projects are to determine if the
overall health of an ecosystem is remaining stable or
declining overtime due to development, human
impact, and the introduction of invasive species.
• Off-campus survey projects allow students to
promote sustainable ecosystems on Hawaii Island
through water quality
measurements, reforestation, the removal of alien
species, population counts, and educational
presentations informing the public about Hawaii’s
unique and fragile ecosystems.

16. Reef Teach
• WHEA works in partnership with the Kohala Center’s Reef Teach program.
• Reef Teach volunteers educate visitors at Kahaluu Bay on the importance and
fragility of coral.
• WHEA students collect data on people who accept and reject education and
analyze the data to see if Reef Teach education is effective in reducing human
impact on coral.
• Based on the data collected from WHEA students, Reef Teach education has been
proven to be successful at a 99 percent confidence level.

17. O’oma Forest Survey
• O’oma Forest project members survey the O’oma Forest’s
biodiversity to calculate the percentage of native versus
invasive species. The data collected is analyzed to determine if
native species are being outnumbered by invasive plants.

18. Anchialine Pond Survey Project
• The Anchialine Ponds Survey Project tests the water
quality of anchialine ponds near the Kohanaiki golf
course and compares the results to an isolated
anchialine pond to determine if the fertilizer run off
from the golf course is impacting the water quality of
the ponds.

19. Works Cited
Keahole Point. Photograph. Kailua-Kona. Dream Green. Web. 10 June 2011. <http://dream-
green.org/wiki/index.php5?title=Image:Nelha.jpg>.
Nautilus Shell. Photograph. Discovering Fossils. Web. 10 June 2011.
<http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/nautilus_shell_cross_section.jpg&imgrefurl>.
NELHA. Photograph. Kailua-Kona. Hawaii Deep Seawater. Web. 11 June 2011.
<http://hawaiideepseawater.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/a1-nelha.jpg&imgrefurl>.
OTEC. Photograph. Kailua-Kona. Smokey Bay. Web. 10 June 2011.
<http://smokeybay.com/images/nelha_aerial.jpg&imgrefurl=makai.com>.
Solar Panel. Photograph. Kailua-Kona. Web. 10 June 2011.
<http://www.billbrownclimatesolutions.blogspot.com>.