Larry Ellison Says His $15M Hawaii Project Can ‘Transform Agriculture’
Larry Ellison Says His $15M Hawaii Project Can ‘Transform Agriculture’
arry Ellison, seen in this file photo, is planing to build a $15 million greenhouse operation on the Hawaiian island of Lanai that could "transform agriculture." Ellison bought 98 percent of Lanai in 2012 for some $300 million.
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
By Janis L. Magin – Real Estate Editor, Pacific Business News
Aug 6, 2017
Billionaire Larry Ellison says he plans to use his Hawaiian island of Lanai as the first step toward transforming agriculture by growing fresh produce using automated hydroponic cultivation inside a $15 million greenhouse operation.
In an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Ellison said he and his team “think we can transform agriculture” with the Lanai Farms project, which will rely on renewable energy to grow tomatoes, lettuces, cucumbers, and herbs that will result in the “highest-quality food at the lowest prices” grown on the island whose land was once primarily used as a pineapple plantation.
Ellison spoke to the newspaper at the Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay on Saturday, the same day some 80 residents, most from Lanai, attended a presentation in the island’s movie theater by a cancer specialist and Ellison friend David Agus on Ellison’s agriculture plans and health initiatives.
He also told the newspaper that his team is working with the University of Hawaii and has applied for a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to research the nutrition and conservation work to be done at the greenhouse complex, which will include 10 greenhouses, each 20,000 square feet.
Ellison told the newspaper that the $75 million renovations of the Lodge at Koele will transform the resort into a wellness retreat that will include more than the typical spa features, such as nutritional consultations and meditation.
Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle Corp., bought 98 percent of Lanai in 2012 for about $300 million from fellow billionaire David Murdock of Dole Food Co. and Castle and Cooke.