Ka Lae

Ka Lae is the site of one of the earliest Hawaiian settlements, and it has one of the longest archaeological records on the islands.[2] It is generally thought that this is where the Polynesians first landed because the Big Island is the closest of the Hawaiian Islands to Tahiti, and Ka Lae would be the point of first landfall.[7] Ruins of an ancient Hawaiian temple (heiau) and a fishing shrine can be found here. In addition, ancient Hawaiians drilled numerous holes in the rock ledges to use for mooring their canoes. Tying long ropes to their boats, they would drift out to sea to fish without fear of being carried away by the strong currents.[8] Anthropologists from the Bishop Museum excavated the area in the 1960s.[9][10][11]

On March 5, 1906, a small lighthouse opened at the point. In 1908 about 10 acres (4.0 ha) were set aside for the United States Coast Guard to build a house for a keeper. At the request of William Tufts Brigham of the Bishop Museum, care was taken not to destroy the archaeological site. In 1929 a steel tower was built for the light, and in 1972 a new 32 foot (10m) concrete tower with solar power was built.[12][13]

A NOAA Weather Radio transmitter broadcasts weather reports from KBA99 with callsign WWG27 on 162.55 MHz.[14] A weather station also monitors wind speed.[15]

Old Kamaoa wind farm at South Point

South Point navigational marker

South Point Satellite Station

During World War II, the US Air Force built a landing strip called Morse Field on the point. The airfield was closed in 1953.[16] In 1961 South Point was on the list of final sites to be considered by NASA to launch crewed rockets to space, but was considered too remote[17] although it was later used to launch sounding rockets for testing of instruments at the Air Force's Maui Space Surveillance Center.[18] The low latitude of the location also made it (and nearby areas that are as remote) attractive as a site for private rocket launches, but these plans were dropped in the face of high costs and local opposition.[19]

A space tracking station was operated from 1964 to 1965, and in the 21st century the Swedish Space Corporation's Universal Space Network again established a remote ground station for space tracking and communications, now consisting of two 13-meter parabolic antennas on the east side of South Point Road.[20] Also at Ka Lae are the large shortwave radio antennas of World Harvest Radio International, which used callsign KWHR until 2009.[21]

In 1987 the Kamaoa Wind Farm began operation with thirty-seven Mitsubishi 250 kW wind turbines with an operationally typical total peak output of 7.5 MW.[22] By 2006 the turbines at 18°59′33″N 155°40′5″W were falling into disrepair, and they were finally shut down on August 15, 2006. At the end of August 2006, components for a new set of wind turbines were transported to South Point. The Pakini Nui project consists of 14 General Electric wind turbines constructed at 18°58′20″N 155°41′21″W, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the old Kamaoa wind farm. Completed in April 2007, Pakini Nui supplies up to 20.5 MW of power to the island electricity grid of Hawaii Electric Light Company.[23] The wind farm is operated by Tawhiri Power, LLC.[24] It is the southernmost wind farm in the United States.[25] The turbines of the old wind farm have been disassembled.