NELHA (National Energy Lab of Hawaii Authority) is a non-profit that overseas a variety of self…read moresustaining experiments and viable start-up businesses involved in environmentally conscious ventures such as energy production and sustainable food growth. We were the only ones taking the tour today. Our guide Candee gave us an overview lecture at the Visitor Center which includes a couple of videos and a demonstration of how even body temperature boils the liquid ammonia that is used to create the steam that runs the turbines in the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion project, which, before I came to NELHA, was the only venture I knew of in this Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology (HOST) Park. As it turns out there is a school here, a monk seal rehab facility, and many businesses that are involved with sustainable seafood growth and other environmentally conscious ventures, including of course, the OTEC plant. Over a three hour period we also visited the 6th - 12th grade charter school (West Hawai'i Explorations Academy (WHEA)) that provides children and teen agers with experimental research in marine biology, and other meaningful hands-on instruction including robotics. It's nice to see the yout's of the future learning about how to preserve our environment. At the school we were able to hold creatures from tide pools such as large starfish and sea cucumbers, and witness larger fish such as a very large grouper jump out and snap up a piece of squid that was held over the water. We also saw the monk (so named because they prefer to stay solitary) seal conservation project, where sick or dying monk seals are brought in for medical treatment and rehab, and then released back into the wild. There is apparently ongoing friction between Hawaiian fisherman and the monk seals, that the fisherman incorrectly believe are competing for the same fish they are trying to gather. As we were told, the monk fish seek fish at much deeper sea levels than the fishermen and do not interfere with their typical fishing. Last stop was the OTEC plant, which is currently a closed system where the thermodynamic difference between cold and warm sea water is used to boil ammonia and run turbines, producing 100 KW at this one station. The tubes do not suck seawater out but rather allow it to enter and rise by its natural flow, which minimizes its impact on the environment (marine life is not sucked in, although some overly curious sea creatures do ride it all the way up and end up collected and studied). Because the tubes to direct the water are currently made partly out of titanium, and because a tube needed to produce enough electricity for example to power the state of Hawaii would need to be about the thickness of a small building and use up about 6% of the entire world's titanium, the OTEC system is not yet cost effective. However, NELHA is still trying to develop ever most efficient means to harness the OTEC concept. Over all an enjoyable and educational overview tour of some of Hawaii's conservation efforts. The cost of the tour goes towards supporting the various projects and the charter school.

If you are a science person or not this tour is great to do and support local. Took my parents on…read morethe Friday Grand tour, well worth the visit. Candee is very informative of the property and mission of the program. Unfortunately we weren't able to go to kampachi fish farm but we visited the octopus farm instead. Then ended with Big Island Abalone. Also saw green grapes growing at the visitors center yup grapes growing in kona, hawaii.