Proclamation pushes back work on PGV

No work on restoring Puna Geothermal Venture can begin until at least Dec. 1 after Gov. David Ige extended his emergency proclamation for the fourth time earlier this week.

PGV spokesman Mike Kaleikini said the facility remains inaccessible after lava from the lower Puna eruption buried all access routes to the plant earlier this year. While administrators visit the facility each week by helicopter to assess the status of the equipment, he said no work on reopening access to PGV can begin until the emergency proclamation is lifted.

Ige issued a proclamation declaring a state of emergency in response to the eruption in May. While emergency proclamations automatically end after 60 days, Ige has extended the proclamation four times, most recently on Tuesday.

The state of emergency is now scheduled to end Dec. 1.

Issac Angel, CEO of PGV owner Ormat Technologies, has previously stated that restoring the plant to operational capacity would take 18 months.

The plant’s geothermal wells were quenched with cold water and sealed in May, with three of the wells subsequently covered by lava, which also destroyed a warehouse and a substation.