HECO Biofuel Contract—$7.69 per gallon

SA: …Under the new deal, Pacific Biodiesel would annually provide HECO with 2 million to 4 million gallons of biodiesel made from recycled cooking oil and other sources, including sunflower seeds grown on Maui. That represents a potential increase of 1 million gallons over the existing contract for 2 million to 3 million gallons a year, though Pacific Biodiesel has already produced over 4 million gallons for HECO in a year.

“This new contract accomplishes our goal of using locally produced biofuel to the greatest extent possible,” Ron Cox, HECO’s senior vice president for operations, said in a statement.

The amount of fuel in both contracts represents a small portion of what HECO uses to run its Oahu power plants. Last year biodiesel represented 2 percent of HECO’s oil and diesel consumption. (Translation: Its an expensive fig leaf for diesel plants.) The alternative fuel also helps the company meet renewable-energy standards, and the new contracts are reducing costs for ratepayers.

HECO wouldn’t disclose its contract price for biodiesel because it said that keeps pricing competitive with other potential biodiesel suppliers.

The existing contract produced a 13 percent savings on what HECO previously paid for biodiesel from Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group Inc….

When HECO proposed its first deal with Pacific Biodiesel, the utility said the lower price for one year amounted to roughly $3 million saved. Spread among HECO customers, those savings would be 30 cents a month, or 0.2 percent less, for a typical residential customer using 600 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

(Do the Math: $3M / 0.13 = $23M / 3M gallons = $7.69 per gallon)

Under the current biodiesel contract, the renewable fuel is used by an 8-megawatt emergency power plant at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, a 110-megawatt generation station at Campbell Industrial Park and other power plants if needed.

Last year Pacific Biodiesel provided HECO with 4.8 million gallons of biodiesel, well over the contract’s upper range, by mutual agreement….

The Campbell plant would switch to burning regular diesel fuel after the Schofield plant starts operating, the company said….

read … Biofools

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Hawaiian Electric and Pacific Biodiesel sign new contract for local biofuel for electricity generation on Oahu

News Release from HECO

Honolulu, Nov. 14, 2017 -- Hawaiian Electric Company and Pacific Biodiesel Technologies have reached a new agreement for the Maui-based biofuel company to supply biodiesel processed from recycled waste cooking oil and other local feedstocks for the 50-megawatt Schofield Generating Station, eight-megawatt Honolulu International Airport Emergency Power Facility, and other Oahu generation facilities as needed.

The three-year renewable contract for 2 million to 4 million gallons per year will go into effect in 2018, subject to approval by the state Public Utilities Commission. Biodiesel processed at Pacific Biodiesel's refinery on Hawaii Island will be barged to Oahu in secure, stainless-steel containers and trucked to sites where it will be used.

"This new contract accomplishes our goal of using locally produced biofuel to the greatest extent possible," said Ron Cox, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president for operations. "In addition, fuel for our power plants under this new contract will be lower priced than we now pay for biodiesel."

Pacific Biodiesel currently supplies its 100-percent renewable biodiesel for Hawaiian Electric's Campbell Industrial Park generation station and the airport emergency facility owned by the state and operated by the utility. The Schofield plant will use a mixture of biodiesel and petroleum diesel. Biofuel for generation provides electricity that is both renewable and firm, that is, available for dispatch as needed.

"The new technology at our Big Island refinery enables us to process the highest quality biodiesel available in the United States," said Robert King, Pacific Biodiesel president. "With this new contract, Hawaiian Electric is ensuring the continuous operation of the Keaau facility, and job security for 80 Pacific Biodiesel employees statewide. More than any other renewable-energy model, locally produced biodiesel provides green jobs, energy security, consistent greenhouse gas reduction and direct displacement of fossil fuels."

Established in 1995, Pacific Biodiesel is the nation's oldest and most experienced biodiesel producer, the only commercial producer of liquid biofuels in Hawaii and a globally recognized pioneer in the industry. Nearly two decades of experience in 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. Currently farming sunflowers and other biofuel crops on Maui, Pacific Biodiesel is demonstrating a sustainable, community-based, "farm-to-fuel" model that is helping Hawaii fight climate change and achieve a clean energy future.

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