Nov 26 2010
A ceremony was conducted three years ago in the Hawaiian Governor’s Executive Chamber to mark the occasion of Hawaii’s de-addiction to imported oil. Both the Federal and the State Governments had an insubstantial proposal for developing a clean renewable energy future. Specifics were absent and the deal did not seem to proceed any further for the next three years.
After which several energy projects were launched to convert Hawaii from being the state, which completely depended on imported oil to an energy self-sufficient state. Hawaii may take a few more years to achieve this but the process has begun.
Lofty turbines can be seen in the island. The local grid will soon start purchasing the home grown solar power from the island’s residents. Charging stations are being constructed for electric cars, at least one station for a hundred car space parking lot. As per the state laws by 2030, at least 40% of power should be generated from renewable resources. At present only 10% is from renewables.
These policies have created a base for the conversion from usage of fossil fuels to limitless energy sources, by developing a framework for private sector investments, to eliminate governmental expenditure. Linda Lingle, Republican Government Official, remarked that transformation was essential for future progress.
According to a Fuel Gauge Report by AAA, the gas prices at Hawaii were the highest at $3.52 per gallon of unleaded fuel, and this was despite the state having bountiful solar, wind and geothermal sources, and this was attributed to high shipping costs of the fuel to the island.
Hawaii’s first step was to draw in the Hawaiian Electric, its electric utility company, and incorporate it into the board, thereby eliminating its profit motive of wanting to sell more and more power. Only if the utility wants to save on energy, the state would be able to reduce the power consumption. This was achieved by the state regulators giving an assurance to the utility that they would be paid a fixed amount of money, regardless of the amount of power sold by them. This decision taken in September 2010 was to convert the Hawaiian Electric into a power distributor from a power producer.
Hawaii lacks smart grid technology and energy storage facilities to facilitate development of renewable power generation. A few smart grid test projects are in the pipeline in places like Kauai, Oahu and Maui. Steve Lindenberg, Federal Department of Energy’s Senior Adviser for Renewable Energy, commented that other states should follow the path taken by Hawaii, by developing a government structure which would provide motivation and inducements to private power companies and eradicate the profit motive from the utilities and thus save on energy. Such kind of regulations was in place only in a few states in the US, but was commonly seen in European countries.
Source: http://energy.hawaii.gov/