Energy

...a dirty legislative trick from 2008 has--eleven years later--effectively outlawed new installation of tankless on-demand gas water heaters....

...despite the nation's lowest electricity consumption, chart-topping rates give Hawaii the 10th highest electric bills....

...Study concludes that ratepayers are being gouged to the greatest possible degree and no other system could gouge us more effectively without us noticing....

...Thanks to the ultimate resource: the human mind....

... Hawaii earned a top of-the-class A+ for spending as much as the settlement allowed on electric vehicle charging infrastructure (Elon Musk) and electrified mass transit buses (Al Gore) ....

...the court's conclusion that the property right to a clean and healthful environment not only requires the PUC to conduct an administrative trial, but that as part of the trial, the agency must expressly consider "the reduction of [greenhouse gas] emissions"....

...the idea of suing America’s energy industry for climate change-related conduct and harms has been rejected many times, including by the highest court in the land....

...the PUC erred by failing to explicitly consider the reduction of GHG emissions in approving the Amended PPA, as required by statute....

...members of Congress who spoke with President Trump emerged from the White House projecting supreme confidence that a Jones Act waiver is now effectively off the table....

...It won’t come from renewables—which can never supply all the power we need—but from foundational scientific discoveries....

... Department of Land and Natural Resources is doing a reforestation project in East Maui. It’s hired a vendor to certify the project for “carbon credits.” Why are they doing that if we don’t even have a carbon tax ....

"...HART does not require Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., (HECO) to provide overhead cost supporting documentation. HART reimburses Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. 100% of their costs incurred...."

...Natural Gas rich Reno, NV is waaaay cleaner than Honolulu....

...Michael Hansen on ThinkTech discusses a blanket Jones Act waiver for LNG Tankers....

...program for the installation or upgrade of electric vehicle charging stations in publicly accessible commercial areas, workplaces, and multi-unit dwellings....

...the President is considering a 10-year waiver of the Jones Act for the domestic transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG)....

...Certifying the project under Verra’s VCS, which includes the verification and validation of the project by independent auditors, enables DOFAW to generate certified carbon credits that it, in turn, can sell to interested buyers, brokers, traders, or retailers....

...Multiple carbon-dioxide tax bills are under consideration in the current session of the Hawaii State Legislature....

...The on-bill repayment program allows electric ratepayers on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i Island, Maui, Lāna‘i and Moloka‘i to invest in green energy installments....

...Elon Musk is going to get even more of your money....

...Utility bills have dropped ranging from less than a dollar a month for the average residential customer in Hawaii to about $14 for the same group in Florida....

“Would you accept a rate increase to modernize the grid? How much of an increase? What about a 5%, 10%, 15% increase to your current bill?”

...Among the projects approved is Hoohana Solar 1 in Kunia, which is planned for a parcel zoned as prime agricultural land, where renewable energy projects are currently not permitted....

...As much as a third of the food waste in Hawaii is due to food that has gone bad before it reaches the consumer....

... it is expected at least 130 electric buses will be added to fleets during the course of the pilot, including tour buses, school buses and public transit systems like TheBus on Oahu....

...after a decade of hype, Hawaii is still 75% coal and oil....

...The 2018 consolidated renewable portfolio standard (RPS) remained the same percentage as it was in 2017, at 27 percent. The consolidated number would have been 29 percent had Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) produced at the same level as 2017....

...By exporting airliner exhaust, the nearly 50% growth in Hawaii tourism numbers since 2008 is simply evaporated from this report.....

...Previously, Asuncion was a senior regulatory analyst and senior integrated resource planning analyst at Hawaiian Electric Company....

...the offtaker for a sizeable project the Company was working on in Hawaii sent the Company a letter purporting to terminate the subject power purchase agreement....

... the DOFAW hearing will be held at 7:00 pm on February 15, 2019 at Kula Elementary School, 5000 Kula Highway in Kula ....

...Jay Griffin becomes PUC chair immediately....

"...HECO has not been coordinating with the Service and DOFAW to verify that a wind energy producer has completed the necessary compliance procedures...."

...The projects – three on Oahu, two on Maui and two on Hawaii Island – will add approximately 262 megawatts (MW) of solar energy with 1,048 megawatt-hours (MWh) of storage....

...In tax year 2016, a total of $289.1 million was claimed in tax credits...the largest tax credit was the renewable energy technologies tax credit ....

...If enacted, the carbon tax would be the fifth special tax imposed on fuel....

...Between 3,500 and 32,500 gallons of treated industrial wastewater composed of freshwater, acidic metal cleaning solution and residue from the descaling of the boiler was discharged....

...If approved, a typical residential bill for 500 kilowatt-hours on Hawaii Island would increase by $8.21 a month....

...at the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Katowice, Poland....

...at the Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant in ‘Ewa Beach....

...MEANWHILE: Feds Will Decide on Hawaii Offshore Wind Projects....

...The requested total bat take is 140 bats (119 in addition to the 21 authorized).... 

...This proclamation also provides additional time for Puna Geothermal Venture to re-establish, or begin to re-establish, the regulatory framework under which it is required to operate....

...potential civil penalties of up to $25,000 per day per violation and potential criminal prosecution....

...Dewanto’s team found the rigid body of an orangutan, half buried under a fallen log next to a scar of freshly cut forest in a peat bog being razed for a new palm plantation....

...Establishes a creepy DC-based "Carbon Dividend Trust Fund" that seeks a backdoor two-child limit on families....

...Any carbon-pricing mechanism should be “adequate to change behavior.”  The commission had considered asking that it be “practical” as well, but Sen. Karl Rhoads convinced the members that was a bad idea….

...After a fierce Neighborhood Board meeting in April where the Board and many in the community opposed the project for its perceived insensitivity to the area, many including myself were under the belief that this project would not proceed until those concerns were addressed....

... The Public Works, Infrastructure & Sustainability Committee will publicly discuss its Draft 1 of Resolution 18-221 [1] in the City Council Committee Meeting Room, on the 2nd floor of Honolulu Hale, at 1:00 pm Weds ....

...The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) hearing will be held at 6:00 pm on Thursday November 29, 2018 at Kaʻala Elementary School, 130 California Avenue in Wahiawa....