Hawaii votes to go 100% renewable on its electrical grid.

[littlewolf]

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/hawaii-passes-legislation-to-go-100-renewable


In the last few weeks, state-level stakeholders around the country have been busy reforming renewable portfolio standards, proposing changes to net metering policies, and studying the potential effects of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Also, in an unprecedented move, the Hawaii state legislature voted to make electricity generation 100 percent renewable by 2045.


Lawmakers in Hawaii passed legislation last week (in a 74-2 vote) requiring the state to generate 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy resources by 2045. If HB 623 is signed into law by Governor David Ige, Hawaii will become the first U.S. state to attempt complete decarbonization of the power sector.
Today, Hawaii’s energy mix is more than 80 percent fossil fuel, with oil providing the majority of electricity generation on the islands. However, renewables are growing fast. Hawaiian Electric Company, the state’s sole privately owned utility company, previously determined it would be feasible to reach 40 percent renewables by 2030. Getting to 100 percent by 2045 will be difficult, but not entirely far-fetched.

“As the first state to move toward 100 percent renewable energy, Hawaii is raising the bar for the rest of the country,” said Chris Lee, the Chairman of the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee and introducer of HB 623, in a statement. “Local renewable projects are already cheaper than liquid natural gas and oil, and our progress toward meeting our renewable energy standards has already saved local residents hundreds of millions on their electric bills.”
Hawaiian regulators are now working to adapt electricity rates to accommodate an increasingly renewable-centric grid. At the same time, there are concerns bubbling up around NextEra’s proposed acquisition of HECO and what it would mean for renewables in the state.

[hunter]

1. The oil companies are not going to like that.

Hawaii could easily go electric in its surface transportation systems too. "Range anxiety" isn't a big issue for most people.

[JDPriestly]

9. How much does it cost to transport oil and gas to Hawaii?

Can't be cheap.

[KamaAina]

2. Maika'i no, E Hawai'i nei!

(very fine, indeed) (alas, no shaka smilie )

[NYC_SKP]

4. .

.

[Duppers]

3. K & R

[NYC_SKP]

5. Well on their way, growth in renewable capacity on Maui and the Big Island is impressive.

Oahu is going to have the toughest row to hoe, with the greatest population and demand.

The key obstacle will be storage.

Solar and wind are plentiful, but they are intermittent so you have got to include significant technologies to store excess generation to have it on tap when needed.

[KamaAina]

6. Banks of Tesla's new batteries?

[NYC_SKP]

7. That would be a big start, put some in homes, some in schools, some in businesses.

Maybe some pumped hydropower storage, lots of good ideas.

I'm happy to say that I work with Heco on some projects.

http://www.hawaiianelectric.com/heco/Clean-Energy/Integration-Tools-and-Resources/Renewable-Watch?cpsextcurrchannel=1

This is gonna happen. Maui first, maybe, or the big island which has a higher percentage coming now from renewables, but Maui deploying more rapidly, has some funding.

Both have mana, big time!

[Wounded Bear]

11. This...

We need to stop thinking in terms of huge power generating plants and making power generation more distributed, at point of use.

The current corporate, industrial model just creates terrorist targets. Hard to have the kind of power outages we've seen in the past if every building on the grid is generating 50% or more of its own power on site, and maybe even sending some out to the grid.

[NYC_SKP]

12. We call it "distributed generation" and it's the future. And now, "distributed storage".

As you know, the past has been all about large centralized power plants. This made sense at the time that we had plentiful resources, relatively low demand, and didn't know or care about the environment.

The more progressive utility providers are embracing distributed generation: smaller more dispersed generation facilities, still connected to a grid, and ideally a smart grid.

Coupled with smart meters and distributed storage schemes, we can move toward 100% renewable generation at twice the speed.

[Wounded Bear]

13. This why Conservatives have been...

Feverishly trying to privatize/profitize all the utilities in America. A public untility can be tweaked to embrace this, profitized companies see it as a revenue loss, and so big money gangs up to oppose it.

Goes for water, electiricity, and especially internet services. If we actually could break it out of private hands, we could probably all be doing HS WiFi in 10 years. As it is, we're years behind many other industrialized countries. Rail, too.

[Johnyawl]

14. Tesla...

... will have an economically viable storage solution available long before 2045.

[NYC_SKP]

15. With rates at 46 cents/kwh (national rate is 12 cents), there's plenty of incentive to change.

46 cents for Lanai and Molokai, below 40 elsewhere but still very steep.

Petroleum, coming in on ships, generates 3/4 of the power.

Tesla and similar storage devices can go online this year at a small scale.

Many residents have already cobbled together their own storage schemes with batteries, it's not that hard to do.

[salimbag]

18. Discussion about co-op

The Big Island needs a co-op like Kauai, not another ripoff like HELCO. NextEra, a Florida based company, is trying to take over this gravy train with promises of renewable energy and an upgraded grid. Not much talk of reduced rates.

http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/commentary/their-views/case-energy-co-op-big-island

[NYC_SKP]

22. We have it now!

[JDPriestly]

8. Just the beginning.

That will become more and more the norm. We in Southern California should be there already. We have more sun than Hawaii I think. Hoping for rain today. It's been promised, but promises, promises.

Solar energy should be the big thing here. It is a sign of political stupidity that it isn't already nearly fueling every light bulb in our area.

[Dont call me Shirley]

10. May this spread quickly worldwide.

[Jack Rabbit]

16. Take that, Dave and Charlie Koch

[awoke_in_2003]

17. Texas could do this...

but we won't. More than just about any state, the amount of sun and wind here is immense.

[Sgt Preston]

19. "By 2045"? LOL.

As if the Hawaii State government could plan anything farther ahead than the next biennium. In fact, they can barely do that. State agencies there don't even know what their budget will be until several months after the biennium begins. They have to spend on speculation. It's ridiculous.

[SunSeeker]

20. K & R

[Cha]

21. Mahalo littlewolf.. lucky peeps who will be around then to take advantage! Mahalo Obama and Hawaii

Kaheawa Wind Power, above the town of Maalaea in the West Maui Mountains, is one of the largest wind farms in Hawaii.

The U.S. government is making clean energy a priority. States from across the nation are taking steps toward energy efficiency, alternative energy programs and new policies that will help the country collectively meet the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan announced last June. And Hawaii is leading the way with a new bill that would require 100 percent of the state’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2045.

http://www.govtech.com/fs/Hawaii-Proposes-100-Percent-Renewable-Energy-by-2045.html