Nisbet Oyster Co. and Craft3 announce completion of groundbreaking solar installation at Kea’au hatchery, first-of-its-kind in Hawaii
Hawaiian Shellfish, subsidiary owned by Willapa Bay, Washington-based Nisbet Oyster Co. will now produce 75 percent of its own energy
Solar panels at Hawaiian Shellfish in Kea’au, Hawaii, provide 75 percent of oyster hatchery’s energy.
Photo Credit: ProVision Solar, 2017
Hawaiian Shellfish
Nisbet Oyster Co.
ProVision Solar
Craft3
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2017
CONTACT
Hawaiian Shellfish, Brian Koval, (808) 345-1933, hawaiianshellfish@goosepoint.com
ProVision Solar, Kim Keahiolalo, (808) 969-3281, kim@pvthawaii.com
Craft3, Carl Seip, (888) 231-2170 x121, cseip@craft3.org
ASTORIA, OREGON – Today, Nisbet Oyster Co., producer of Goose Point Oysters, announced the installation of solar panels at its Hawaii-based oyster hatchery, Hawaiian Shellfish LLC, – making it the first shellfish hatchery in Hawaii to generate this level of production from solar energy alone. The panels will produce 100,000 kWh annually, equivalent to the amount required to power nine homes for a year.
“As oyster farmers in the Pacific Northwest with farming beds that have been in production for more than a century, we are committed to sustainability,” said David Nisbet, Nisbet Oyster Co., CEO. “Hawaiian Shellfish has allowed us to stabilize our oyster seed supply. We are excited to reduce the environmental footprint of this facility.”
Since 2012, Nisbet Oyster Co. has used the 20,000-square-foot Hawaiian Shellfish hatchery to provide oyster larvae and juveniles to Goose Point Oysters to be fully grown at their farm sites on Willapa Bay, Washington, as well as by other small farmers in Washington, California and Alaska. The Hawaiian business model is a response to increasing ocean acidification in the Pacific Northwest, which has made it increasingly difficult to raise larvae in local waters.
The new solar panels will generate 75 percent of the hatchery’s energy, eliminating 170,000 pounds of CO2 each year and helping produce the energy required to pump water from a nearby saltwater well into the hatchery’s larvae tanks.
“We congratulate Dave Nisbet and his team for seeing the solution in Paradise Park and for going the extra step to not only save money but to also reduce their own carbon emissions,” said Kim Keahiolalo of ProVision Solar, Inc, which installed the panels.
Most of the $875,000 project was financed by Craft3, an Oregon- and Washington-based nonprofit lender that is a long-time financial partner of Dave and Nisbet Oyster Co. The project also received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which helps deploy renewable energy for small businesses and agriculture producers in rural areas.
“Craft3 continues to be impressed with Dave’s ability to find innovative ways to solve industry problems,” said Craft3 President and CEO Adam Zimmerman. “We are proud to finance Dave’s vision to save money for Hawaiian Shellfish while reducing environmental impacts.”
Hawaiian Shellfish will benefit from federal tax credits which allow for 30 percent of the system cost to be credited back to its federal income tax return. Another 35 percent of the total project cost can be deducted from the Hawaiian Shellfish, LLC Hawaii state tax return.
Full release available at: http://www.craft3.org/About/News/News-Detail/2017/06/08/hawaiian-shellfish
About Hawaiian Shellfish, LLC / Nisbet Oyster Co. Inc.
Nisbet Oyster Co. Inc. is a family-owned and -operated oyster farm and processing operation located on Willapa Bay, Washington producing under the Goose Point Oysters brand. Our affiliated companies include Goose Point Oyster Co. and Hawaiian Shellfish, and between the three companies’ employee more than 100 people. We have been in business for 39 years and farm on approximately 1900 acres of tide lands in Willapa Bay on the south-western coast of Washington State. Much or our tidelands has been in oyster production since the late 1800’s. As such, we are committed to long term sustainability and our success is tied to external environmental factors such as ocean productivity. Our decision to set up a hatchery in Hawaii was in direct response to the need to secure a reliable source of seed at a time when the Pacific Northwest has been affected by ocean acidification. Our hatchery in Hawaii which draws saltwater from a well was originally designed to operate as energy efficiently as possible. To learn more, visit www.GoosePoint.com.
About ProVision Solar, Inc.
ProVision Solar, Inc. is a Hawaii solar electric Installation company specializing in grid connected and battery supported photovoltaic energy systems since 1998. ProVision Solar was the first SunPower dealer in Hawaii. We add value to your clean energy purchase by providing customer education, best design practices and an array of financing options. To learn more visit www.provisionsolar.com.
About Craft3
Craft3 is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution specializing in loans that strengthen the economy, families and environment. It lends to businesses and nonprofits throughout Oregon and Washington. In Oregon, Craft3 offers affordable loans to homeowners for septic system repair or energy-efficiency upgrades. Since inception in 1994, Craft3 has invested more than $400 million in over 4,800 people and businesses from offices in Seattle, Spokane, Port Angeles and Walla Walla, Washington and in Bend, Astoria and Portland, Oregon. To learn more, visit www.Craft3.org.