Energy

...the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission confirmed the companies' view that the merger presents no likelihood of potential anticompetitive effects in Hawai'i....

...let’s look at the tax-related conditions that are being proposed....

...the era of low American natural gas prices could extend for decades....

...in 2012, we reported that the State had issued and was responsible for reimbursing nearly $1 billion in tax credits; however, approximately three years later, we found that this obligation has nearly doubled, to almost $2 billion....

Lighting the Way III: The Top States that Helped Drive America’s Solar Energy Boom in 2014....

"The only model we have in Hawaii is Kauai Island Utility and its rates are among the highest in the State and nation."

...more than forty state and county leaders representing all islands -- including Democrats, Republicans, and Independents....

Paper and cardboard should go to H-Power....

...four Democrats from solar-rich states, have voiced concern that solar installation companies are engaging in deceptive marketing in order to attract new customers....

"NextEra Energy Commits to Keeping Hawaiian Electric Locally Managed"

...Ige's LNG Edict was delivered August 24--three days after this ratings outlook from Moody's....

The U.S. already leads the world in carbon emissions reduction thanks to the increased use of natural gas obtained through fracking....

...if oil prices rise dramatically in the coming years, some will say why didn’t we invest in LNG....

... Hu Honua is #1 ....

The judge determined that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act when it issued 30 year permits to wind-energy companies without first conducting an environmental-impact assessment....

...light winds have limited production from the two wind farms on the North Shore....

...renewables have a low capacity factor because their power sources are dependent on the elements....

Calls Purported Benefits Illusory and Inadequate....

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission has set formal evidentiary hearings and public listening sessions on NextEra Energy Inc.’s $4.3 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Electric Co., according to public documents....

...at home using electricity from the grid will be most expensive during peak electricity demand from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.....

All low-carbon electricity generation technologies, including renewables, energy efficiency, natural gas, nuclear and carbon capture and storage, can play a role in state plans....

...an economic study for commissioned by the state recommends Hawaii raise taxes on gasoline by $.85 per gallon....

...What matters is whether the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative is delivering the CO2 reductions which for many justify the increased expense.  The answer is no.....

2015 may go down in the books as the year support for renewable energy died....

Residential customers now pay roughly $0.17/kWh for fixed costs....

...fuel taxes are "highly regressive," meaning that they hurt the poor the most....

"...will instead concentrate on the PUC's pending Power Supply Improvement Plan (PSIP) docket, which is better suited to address transformational planning issues...."

Since October, 2014 more than 15,000 applications have been approved to install or interconnect....

Each month, this customer will receive credit for a share of the electricity output of the community solar facility and pay a small maintenance fee, in total reducing the customer’s electric bill by about 45 percent....

KIUC has also heard complaints from members who are now paying more for their rooftop solar than their previous electric bill....

...the threat of losing NEM has led some in the PV industry down the path of hyperbole, exaggeration and self-interested fear-mongering....

The average monthly consumption of electricity per housing unit in Louisiana is triple that in Hawaii....

Rising wages in China and increased industrial productivity in the United States contributed to that trend, but the report cited hydraulic fracturing as the primary reason for the shift in costs....

For example, the Aina Koa Pono project....

...electric vehicles generate a negative environmental benefit of about -0.5 cents per mile relative to comparable gasoline vehicles....

...At the end of 2014, customers were annually shifting an estimated $53 million, an increase of $15 million over the 2013 estimated total of $38 million....

...Ige will join other elected officials and business leaders for the Washington Post’s “Powering Cities” forum on Tuesday, June 23...

...it is OK that their plan would gut the tourism industry because it would also drive Hawaii's cost of living up to the point where residents could no longer afford to leave....

...it does not specify any penalties. It also outlines broad reasons the requirements may be waived....

...federal subsidies to wind power do not create investment out of nowhere; they simply distort the relative cost of producing wind energy, shifting investments from other sectors of the economy to wind projects....

The applicant is requesting an ITP to authorize take of one threatened and six endangered species....

Many fossil fuel producers will benefit, while the poor—and the economy—will suffer....

...one more organ of old-boy power is dissolved into corporate America....

...directing the state’s utilities to generate 100 percent of their electricity sales from renewable energy resources by 2045....

...Hawaii-specific EV and car sales data to provide a preliminary forecast of potential EV adoption in Hawaii....