WHAT HAWAII WILL DO WITH NEW ENERGY

At the prompting of Hawaii’s leaders, Hawaiian Electric Co., the state’s biggest utility has agreed to a goal of generating 70% of Hawaii’s electricity from New Energy sources by 2030.

The bold plan includes the development of 1,100 megawatts of New Energy capacity. The utility also agreed to build no new coal plants and to convert existing facilities to biogas generation from locally grown crops.

The transition is clearly driven from the top of the state’s government. Rarely has a leader sounded more serious. Governor Lingle: "We don't have years and years anymore to make these changes…These are not hopes or dreams or wishes, these are our specific plans that we hope to achieve."

The boldest part of the plan is that many of its tenets – to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars – are as yet unfunded. Boldness is Hawaii’s only real option: The islands are without significant fossil fuel resources.

The boldest of the bold: An undersea transmission system connecting islands with wind installations to islands with population centers. That’s a huge undertaking but a potential moneymaker for the entrepreneur bold enough to step up. No doubt Senator Daniel Inouye, Hawaii’s heavy-hitting Democrat in D.C., will find a way to get federal funds for the project.

The source of this move is the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, a partnership between the state and the U.S. Department of Energy which, recognizing Hawaii’s lack of traditional energy resources, set the goal of making the state a model for energy independence via New Energy generation.

click to enlarge

Hawaii outlines renewable energy goals
Mark Niesse, October 21, 2008 (AP)

WHO
Hawaiian Electric Co. (Connie Lau, board of directors chairwoman); Linda Lingle, Governor, Hawaii; Senator Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii

WHAT
Hawaiian Electric Co. has agreed to a plan for New Energy development.

Hawaii needs to figure out a compromise on environmental issues and develop SOME of that offshore wind. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- By 2030: Obtain 70% of Hawaii's power from New Energy.
- 2008: Hawaii gets 10% of its power from new energy.

WHERE
- Hawaiian Electric Co. serves Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.
- Undersea cables will link planned wind installations on Lanai or Molokai to population centers on Maui and Oahu.

WHY
- Hawaiian Electric Co. is Hawaii’s biggest utility.
- The undersea cables for moving power from islands with wind power-generation to islands with population centers will likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars and may be funded by entrepreneurs, state bonds, federal funds or a combination.
- The new plan includes incentives to encourage adoption of electric vehicles.
- The plan also includes a form of net metering or feed-in tariff to reward owners of distributed generation like solar systems or small wind systems for putting power onto the grid.

Hawaii is part of a chain of Pacific islands with big wave energy potential. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Connie Lau, board of directors chairwoman, Hawaiian Electric Co.: "This is a historic moment for all of us, and it really does take us far beyond what our companies have done historically…"
- Senator Inouye: "It's not going to be easy, but we must do it, because of all the 50 states in the union, our state is the most vulnerable…We have no fossil fuels, so we have to manufacture our own energy."