The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) administers the Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology Park (HOST Park). NELHA also administers a small site 4 acre (0.01618744 km²) in Puna on the eastern side of the Island of Hawaii for geothermal research. NELHA was founded in 1974. The original mission was for research into the uses of Deep Ocean Water

Dow

-People:*Herbert Henry Dow , founder of Dow Chemical Company*Charles Dow , founder of Dow Jones & Co*James R. Dow, professor of German language*Paula Dow , 58th Attorney General of New Jersey*Neal S...

 in Ocean thermal energy conversion

Ocean thermal energy conversion

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion uses the difference between cooler deep and warmer shallow or surface ocean waters to run a heat engine and produce useful work, usually in the form of electricity....

 (OTEC) renewable energy

Renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...

 production and in aquaculture

Aquaculture

Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...

. It later added research into sustainable uses of natural energy sources such as solar energy.
Its administration offices are located in the HOST Park Keahole Point

Keahole Point

Keāhole Point is the westernmost point of the island of Hawaii. The Kona International Airport was moved here from directly north of the town of Kailua-Kona in 1970, when the previous smaller airstrip was converted into the Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area...

 in the North Kona District

Kona District, Hawaii

Kona is the name of a moku or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the moku of Kona is divided into North Kona District and South Kona District . The term "Kona" is sometimes used to refer to its largest town,...

.
The entrance is on the Hawaii Belt Road at coordinates , just south of the Kona International Airport

Kona International Airport

Kona International Airport at Keāhole is an airport on the Island of Hawaii, in Kalaoa CDP, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. The airport serves leeward, or Western Hawaii island, including the town of Kailua-Kona and the major resorts of the North Kona and South Kohala districts.- History...

. The main administration office is in the 4 acre (0.01618744 km²) research campus at the end of the road along the coastline on Keahole Point.

The laboratory was founded in 1974 with 345 acres (1.4 km²), associated with the University of Hawaii

University of Hawaii

The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...

. Large pipelines pump cold sea water from a depth of 3000 feet (914.4 m). For three months in 1979, a small amount of electricity was generated. A larger plant was constructed in the Almost $250M was spent on Ocean thermal energy conversion, but by 1991, the research shifted to other areas. The adjacent Science and Technology Park was merged into the facility, expanding it to 877 acres (3.5 km²). A neutrino

Neutrino

A neutrino is an electrically neutral, weakly interacting elementary subatomic particle with a half-integer spin, chirality and a disputed but small non-zero mass. It is able to pass through ordinary matter almost unaffected...

 detector was partially constructed in the 1990s called Project DUMAND

Project DUMAND

The DUMAND Project was a proposed underwater neutrino telescope to be built in the Pacific Ocean, off the shore of the island of Hawaii, five kilometers beneath the surface...

.

In 2002, 50 acres (202,343 m²) were leased to a commercial company which filters and bottles the water for sale in Japan.
The pipelines were broken in the October 15, 2006 earthquake

2006 Hawaii earthquake

The 2006 Hawaii earthquake was an offshore earthquake occurring southwest from Puakō and north of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, just offshore of the Kona Airport, on Sunday October 15, 2006 at 7:07:49 AM local time . It measured 6.7 on the moment magnitude scale, and was located at , at a depth of...

, but one of the three has been repaired over two years later.
Makai Ocean Engineering, working with Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....

, restarted OTEC research.
Aquaculture

Aquaculture

Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...

, biofuel from algae, solar thermal energy

Solar thermal energy

Solar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy . Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United States Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors. Low-temperature collectors are flat plates generally used to heat...

, solar concentrating and wind power

Wind power

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....

are some of the 40 tenants.

External links

• Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Official web site
• Friends of NELHA Web site describing the Hawaii Gateway Energy Center which is NELHA's visitor center