The operation is expected to save more than 1,000 barrels of imported oil each year of its projected 30-year life. PowerLight Corp. of Berkeley, Calif., producer of the hybrid renewable energy system, has also been signed to a maintenance performance agreement, said Riley Smith, Parker Ranch vice president for project management. He said the ranch, which encompasses 225,000 acres on the Big Island, will not be selling any of the power generated by its new system to the Hawaii Electric grid. Lack of rain keeps much of Kohala's cattle country tinder dry. Smith said the ranch does not irrigate its pastures and when there is less moisture in the grass, the cattle drink more water.
Renewable power fits right in with the ranch's policy of environmental stewardship.