While the eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is thousands of miles away from Oklahoma, it still fascinates us. And now the lava has reached the Puna Geothermal Venture plant creating yet another potential disaster.
The lava at last word covered a well and was threatening another.
“Lava flow from Fissures 7 and 21 crossed into PGV [Puna Geothermal Venture] property overnight and has now covered one well that was successfully plugged,” declared the Hawaii Civil Defense Agency in a statement released on Sunday, May 27 at 6:00 pm local time. “That well, along with a second well 100 feet [30 meters] away, are stable and secured, and are being monitored. Also due to preventative measures, neither well is expected to release any hydrogen sulfide.”
The geothermal plant is under a complete shutdown with eleven wells capped and some 60,000 gallons of flammable liquid removed from the site.
There remains a fear that a rupture of the wells might set off an explosion releasing hydrogen sulfide and other dangerous gasses into the environment.
Residents have been worrying about such a scenario since the plant went online nearly three decades ago. Over the years, PGV owners have faced lawsuits questioning its decision to place the plant so close to one of the world’s most active volcanoes, as Reuters reports. The 38-megawatt PGV facility provides about 25 percent of power to the Big Island.