Solar project must be moved away from humans, homes

The huge 200-acre solar power plant planned for South Maui may be a good idea but there is more to the story. The project is almost as large as Maui Meadows and its 49,000 panels, humming as they constantly swerve toward the sun, would be jammed very near homes.

Many elements of this proposal are alarming. According to Pono Power Coalition, Mauians opposed to the project:

1) Air temperatures around solar power plants are between 5.4 to 7.2 degrees warmer than surrounding land. This influences local rainfall and weather patterns. Imagine breathing the residue of 49,000 black glass panels in the South Maui heat!

2) The five to six industrial-strength inverters would be scattered throughout the project, emitting EMFs as the energy is converted between AC and DC, disrupting the sine waves into unhealthy patterns, which have been shown in research studies to disrupt the proper functioning of cellular membranes throughout the body, as well as being associated with many other unhealthy effects

3) The area is notoriously cloudy. Solar panels in cloudy conditions generate just one-third of their capacity.

4) What will 200 acres of cleared, denuded land do to properties downhill? During heavy rainfalls, there is a danger of flooding as well as increased brown water from the site harming our already fragile reefs, the ocean, its creatures and its beaches.

Ulapalakua Ranch has plenty of land — the huge solar project can be and must be moved safely and soundly away from humans and homes.

Antoinette Polancy Kihei