The news broke June 9 to the public Gov. David Ige signed into law a goal to have Hawaii be independent of fossil fuels for all energy needs by 2045. This means harnessing renewable energy, like wind, wave, sun and even garbage.
Masaki Yamanashi, a junior from Japan studying biology, said, “I think Heavenly Father gave us his earth and we are told to landscape it well. One way or the other it is a treasure for us to treasure.”
The law says, “Energy independence beyond 2030 shall be undertaken in a manner that benefits Hawaii’s economy and all electric customers, maintains customer affordability and does not induce renewable energy developers to artificially increase the price of renewable energy in Hawaii.”
Ajri McArthur, a trained architect hired by the school to assist in project completion, said in order for this goal to happen, there needs to be an outline of how to do it. She also points out “renewable energy is a good thing, but it requires its own infrastructure, and that has an impact on the environment.”
Wind
Hawaiian Electric Company currently gets a total of 99 megawatts from wind energy that is enough to power 16,500 homes, 30 of which come from the wind farm in Kahuku, according to its website.
The Star Advertiser reported June 18 Na Pua Makani Power Partners LLC proposed a second wind farm to be constructed “far enough from residents to have minimal visual and noise impact” in early 2016.
“Hawaii residents will benefit from the lower cost of energy generated by the wind farm,” said Scott Bradshaw, community outreach specialist for the project. “This will help the environment and save residents of Hawaii money in the long term.”
Concerning a lower electricity bill, Kura Tovey said, “Right now I’m not seeing results.”
Tovey, originally from Marquesas who has lived in Laie for 19 years, said she has friends in Kahuku who are bothered by the noise of the windmills when they are trying to sleep at night. However, she thinks the goal to be completely on sustainable energy is “awesome if we can. Then we’ll be more independent and it should be much cheaper.”
However, wind turbines built out in the ocean would be far enough away to not be heard by residents. That is what AW Hawaii Wind, a subsidiary of Denmark-based Alpha Wind Energy, proposed building: 102 wind turbines in the ocean, with undersea cables getting the energy to Hawaii’s energy grid.
“Because the project is at such an early stage, its impact on the state, from the overall economy to the individual ratepayer, remains an unknown,” wrote the Honolulu Star Advertiser. “Further studies, design improvements and tests are required prior to manufacturing and installation,” AWH says.
A prototype wind turbine is being used on the remote Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific to power a wildlife refuge and research center. It has nets over the opening to protect birds. It could be another piece of technology to be used in diversifying Hawaii’s renewable energy portfolio.
Solar
It is common to see solar panels on the roofs of Hawaii residences. In fact, the Hawaiian Electric website says customer-sited solar energy produces 40.9 megawatts across Maui, Molokai and Lanai.
However, manufacturing solar panels comes with a cost to the environment as well. According to energyinformative.com, “certain solar cells require materials that are expensive and rare in nature. Some manufacturing processes are associated with” nitrogen trifluroide and sulfur hexafluoride, which “are some of the most potent greenhouse gasses and have many thousand times the impact on global warming compared to carbon dioxide.”
“The bottom line is this: there’s nothing that’s completely risk-free in the energy world, but solar power compares very favorably with all other technologies,” the website says.
Oahu has also seen an increase in the number of rooftop photovoltaic permits issued in May. “The city issued 654 permits, up from 500 in May 2014, according to data from Marco Mangelsdorf, who tracks rooftop solar permits and is president of Hilo-based ProVision Solar. HECO said 12 percent of its customers on Oahu have rooftop solar,” reported the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
However, there are hoops to jump through for more company-based solar projects. “State Public Utilities Commission Chairman Randy Iwase said he delayed approval of seven utility scale solar projects on Oahu because he want to avoid the ‘monopolizing’ of power production in Hawaii. ‘We want to make sure we don’t go back to where we are trying to get away from: one group or company monopolizing power production,’” Iwase said in the June 9 Honolulu Star Advertiser article.
In order for HECO to start its proposed solar projects, it wants to have the PUC waive the competitive bidding process to help shorten the approval process and meet a federal tax credit deadline of December 2016.
An eighth proposed project could produce 240 megawatts, which could provide energy for up to 40,000 homes. Before the PUC will approve the projects, Iwase said, “The first question we asked was, ‘How can the grid absorb all of this?’ Their response was they can handle it. It didn’t go into any detail.”
“We’re disappointed with the outcome,” said HECO spokesman Darren Pai. “This project offered an opportunity to add more low-cost renewable energy to benefit our customers. We will continue to pursue projects that will help us meet our commitments to increase our use of renewable energy.”
HECO provided more information, as the PUC has requested, saying the “contracts between the utility and the different power producers could save customers more than $800 million over 22 years, according to a high fuel cost scenario, or could cost more than $9 million, according to a low fuel forecast,” reported the Honolulu Star Advertiser on June 17.
“All of the waiver projects can be safely integrated onto the Oahu system grid while still accommodating and permitting continued growth of customer-sited PV systems,” HECO said in its report to the PUC.
Water
Wave energy has made its first appearance on Oahu’s power grid, reported the Honolulu Star Advertiser on June 17.
“Honolulu-based Sea Engineering Inc. deployed the Azura wave power generator at the Navy's Wave Energy Test Site at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, Northwest Energy said this month.”
Northwest Energy has been backed by the U.S. Navy and the University of Hawaii, says the article. Northwest Energy founder and CEO Steve Kopf, said, “As the first grid-connected wave energy device in the United States that will be tested and validated by an independent party, this deployment marks a major milestone for our team and the marine renewable energy industry.”
“Darren Pai, spokesman for Hawaiian Electric Co., said the utility is hopeful that the pilot is successful, as the state could add another renewable-energy resource to its portfolio,” reported the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
Sludge
HECO uses a waste-to-energy process to create 73 megawatts of power. “The total capacity of HPOWER is 88 megawatts, but the power producer only is on contract to send 73 megawatts to Hawaiian Electric Co., after using 15 megawatts to run the plant,” said the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
It is a mixture of sewage and garbage called “sludge” that is processed to create energy. “That’s a good idea—since this island is overpopulated,” said Jacqueline Rasmussen, a senior in chemistry from Las Vegas.