Hawaiian Electric and Pacific Biodiesel agree on new contract for locally produced biofuel

News Release from HECO and Pacific Biodiesel December 2, 2014

HONOLULU, December 2, 2014 – Hawaiian Electric and Pacific Biodiesel Technologies have signed a contract for the Maui-based biofuel company to supply biodiesel processed from waste cooking oil and other local feedstocks, primarily for use at the 110-megawatt Campbell Industrial Park generation facility with the capability for use at other Oahu power plants as needed.

The two-year contract for a minimum of two million and up to three million gallons per year will go into effect in November 2015, subject to review and approval by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. Pacific Biodiesel is currently under contract to supply biodiesel for the State of Hawaii-owned Honolulu Airport Emergency Generation Facility scheduled to be in service by mid-2015. That 10-MW facility will provide electricity to Hawaiian Electric’s grid to supply all Oahu customers under normal operations with the ability to isolate itself from the grid to power only the vital needs of the Honolulu International Airport in an emergency.

The Campbell Industrial Park plant now uses biodiesel processed from waste fats and oils by Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group, Inc., a leading North American advanced biofuels producer, under a contract that will end in November 2015.

“This new contract accomplishes our goal of using locally produced biofuel to the greatest extent possible,” said Alan Oshima, Hawaiian Electric president and CEO. “Biodiesel for the Campbell Industrial Park plant will come from Pacific Biodiesel’s recently commissioned Hawaii Island refinery at a lower price than we now pay for mainland supplied biodiesel.”

Conceived in 1995, Pacific Biodiesel is recognized as the nation’s oldest and most sustainable biodiesel business and a worldwide pioneer in the industry. Nearly two decades of constructing and operating biodiesel-processing plants, advancing process technology, and producing and marketing quality fuels have provided industry-leading accomplishments recognized at community, state and national levels.

“The new technology installed at Big Island Biodiesel enables us to process the most degraded feedstock into the highest quality biodiesel available in the United States,” said Robert King, president of Pacific Biodiesel. “With this new contract, Hawaiian Electric will be purchasing approximately half our production volume, ensuring the continuous operation of the Keaau facility. We are hopeful the PUC will agree that this contract for locally produced renewable fuel at a lower cost is a good thing for Hawaii.

“More than any other renewable energy model, locally produced biodiesel provides consistent green jobs, energy security and displacement of fossil fuels,” King said, noting the contract is a major step toward fulfilling the intent of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative created to focus the State on sustainability and self-sufficiency.

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