Energy

• Hawaii Island electricity use almost 49 percent from renewables
• Maui County 35 percent renewables; 
• Oahu 17 percent renewables

And Hawaii legislators are considering a gas tax hike ....

...HB2607HD1 authorizes Special Purpose Revenue Bond money to “PQ Energy, LLC”.  The amount is not filled in but was originally listed as $63M....

"...wind resources are presently at zero...."

...The nation’s least expensive markets for gas are Oklahoma ($1.42), Missouri ($1.46) and Kansas ($1.47)....

...modern fast starting, quick ramping generators are needed to balance the variability of solar and wind power....

"...regarding offshore renewable energy opportunities in Hawai‘i...."

...and what are the other 33 states doing?  They are keeping their electricity cheap....

Exempting Puerto Rico from the Jones Act is the single most important step Congress can take....

...three sectors that are key to future sustainability in Hawai‘i - energy, agriculture and natural resource management....

"By building on the successes achieved by Kauai Island Utility Cooperative to integrate high levels of cost-effective solar PV into the grid...."

Apparently GEMS is an attractive target for raiding because a 2014 bond issue raised $150 million for the program and little, if any, capital has been deployed to date....

"Implementation of the selected action will not result in significant impacts."

In January, renewable resources met an average of 77 percent of Kaua‘i’s energy demand during the peak solar hours, spiking to 90 percent on four separate days....

Solar leases and no-money-down contracts can lock homeowners into making payments for years, sometimes for more than the average monthly electric bill without solar....

A lawsuit against Petrobras for hiding a bribery scheme for years while selling $98 billion in securities....

Friday, February 26th, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm....

"We are...acutely aware of the burden high electricity rates place on both the cost of doing business and living in Hawaii"

...hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that are being wasted on biofuels....

By the year's end, the utility will need to collect $7,940,691.56 more to fulfill "revenue requirements" for GEMS....

The LNG project requires federal approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and State approval from the Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission (PUC)....

There would be little physical infrastructure that would need to change hands, and as such the capital costs for this approach are relatively low....

Cong Perluisi stated there “. . . . are eight constructive steps the federal government could take,” including the need to “update the Existing Jones Act LNG and LPG Exemption in Puerto Rico” ....

...the loan would be repaid through revenues generated by a special assessment on the borrowers' real-property tax bills....

The legislative session has yet to even begin, and House leaders are already poised to fast-track a set of blanket exemptions for power producers....

"...students will learn core principles of science and will see the relevance of community initiatives, such as moving to solar energy, limiting waste, encouraging recycling and reducing water usage with low-flow toilets...."

Under the CPP, states have been given the choice of meeting either a rate- or mass-based goal for their existing fleet of power plants....

Be sure to thank the frackers ....

Hawaii's Green Energy Market Securitization program (GEMS) financed with $145 million in bonds....

...our government has forced our utilities to jack up our electric bills to pay for this financing program that, to date, has not been able to underwrite a single kilowatt....

Don't worry.  It's only a $500M contract....

.. but since 100% renewable doesn't really mean 100% renewable, what does 21.2% renewable mean? ...

Big Island customers could save as much as $113 million on the existing HELCO rate base and up to $234 million including investments to modernize the grid over a four-year period....

Former Hawaii PUC chair Morita vies for Kauai utility board seat....

Fitch has maintained Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HEI, IDR 'BBB') on Rating Watch Positive. Fitch expects to resolve the Rating Watch on the conclusion of the merger transaction with NextEra Energy, Inc....

TASC’s efforts in defense of NEM in Hawaii have incurred a similar response....

17 megawatts of solar facilities on three separate military installations on Oahu....

Henry Curtis is Executive Director & Vice President at Life of the Land Hawaii, a Hawaii-based, Hawaii-focused environmental and community action group founded in 1970....

More Than 25 Organizations and Companies Across Hawaii....

...500 acres of land on the southern flank of Haleakala for wind power generation....

97% of poll respondents support more rooftop solar....

Offshore wind is 2.6 times more expensive as onshore wind power and is 3.4 times more expensive than power produced by a natural gas combined cycle plant....

Hawaii-West Coast products deliveries have to be done by costly Jones Act tankers....

Residential time-of-use rates would be most beneficial for customers who are able to use more electricity during the middle of the day until 4 p.m....

...what will the train’s power bill be for decades to come?....

A rate that is higher -- above the existing energy charge rate -- from 4 p.m. to midnight (on-peak hours)....

instead of getting credited for the full retail rate for the energy they produce, customers will be credited for a fixed rate between 15 cents and 28 cents per kilowatt-hour, depending on the island....

Here's the trick.  The 'second' biofuel plant will soon be the 'only' biofuel plant....