Ka'u small hydro challenge

I was reading "West Hawaii Today" while sipping some freshly roasted coffee and came across this article:
Source: Despite roadblocks, Olson optimistic about Ka’u power plans | West Hawaii Today

It is a small scale example of the challenges of small hydro:

. . .
But bringing the project up to speed will take more than just adding water. The Keaiwa Reservoir, the source of water for the coffee farm and proposed hydroelectric plant, was damaged in the 1983 earthquake, leaving cracks about halfway up the side of the 12.8-million-gallon structure.

Olson is currently working to repair the reservoir so it can hold its full capacity, rather than the roughly 5 million gallons it could now hold. To bring it back to full use, he’ll need permits from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. That’s a much more difficult proposal in light of tough new restrictions imposed following the 2006 deaths of seven people when the Ka Loko dam on Kauai burst.
. . .
The original plans were to produce 400 kw of electricity, enough to run the Ka‘u Coffee Mill and have enough left over to power 400 Pahala homes. But negotiations with Hawaii Electric Light Co. fell through when Olson was told he would have to pay to upgrade about two miles of power lines along Wood Valley Road, at a cost of about $1 million, before HELCO would accept the power.

Olson could also use the power to replace propane burners in the coffee heating plant, creating a 100 percent green energy operation.
. . .​

Hydro power requires a lot of land and consideration for those downstream from the dams. Living in the Tennessee Valley, I often reflect on how an earthquake could spell doom for a lot of communities along the river. This includes a nearby nuclear power plant, Browns Ferry. Yes, we have evacuation routes for the nuclear power plant, there is nothing addressing dam failure . . . an issue faced in 1983.

Bob Wilson

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