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"Hawaiian Electric has filed a request with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) asking for a 5.2% increase in electric rates in 2009.” Future rate hikes are around the corner."
Hawaii To Transform Energy in a Generation
06-Oct-2009
Hawaii, like many islands, currently depends on imported fossil fuels -- mostly oil -- to deliver 90 percent of the electric power and virtually all the transport fuel consumed in the state. It's costing Hawaii nearly $7 billion a year, 11 percent of its GDP and as a consequence, Hawaiian residents pay among the highest prices in the U.S. for fuel. But the state has a vision — and a plan — to change that and transform itself into a world model for clean and independent energy "within a generation." The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative was launched in 2008 as a partnership between the State of Hawaii and the U.S. Department of Energy. Its goal is to have renewable sources provide at least 70 percent of the Hawaii's energy needs by 2030, and it also includes a large energy efficiency component. According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration, Hawaii already ranks third in the nation (after Maine and California) in use of renewable energy relative to the state's total electricity production. Some key Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative goals and projects are: Double the Renewable Portfolio Standard to 40 percent by 2030; Establish a feed-in tariff for renewables generators; Retire older, dirty generation plants; Prohibit any new coal plants in Hawaii; and Convert existing generators to biofuel.
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Source: Renewable Energy World, Jackie Jones, Editorial Director
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