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The Electricity working group is dedicated to increasing the use of renewable electricity technologies in Hawai'i and facilitating the distribution of electricity across our islands.

GOAL

Hawai'i Clean Energy Initiative's goal, and the statutory goal of Hawaii's Renewable Portfolio Standard, is to generate 40% of Hawaii's energy from renewable resources by 2030. In order to increase the use of renewable electricity throughout Hawai'i, the working group is focusing on increasing renewable generation, upgrading grid infrastructure, securing investment, and promoting public acceptance.

REPRESENTATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

HCEI's accomplishments in electricity generation and delivery include:

By statute, the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard for renewable electricity was set to 15% by 2015, 25% by 2020, and 40% by 2030
A feed-in tariff applicable to HECO and its subsidiaries was established for several renewable technologies
The State of Hawai'i and HECO signed a cooperative agreement to increase renewable electricity generation
A coordinated permitting program was established at DBEDT, and permitting guidebooks developed for renewable technologies
A 1.2-MW photovoltaic plant, the state's largest, was built on Lana'i
Hawai'i experienced the fastest growth in photovoltaic installation in the nation
30 MW of wind power was installed at Kahuku
Wind Power Grid Integration studies were completed for all islands
A technical review of the interisland cable was completed
Smart Grid demonstrations on O'ahu, Maui and Kaua'i were initiated
Solar resource potential and grid impact studies began

CHALLENGES

Hawai'i has a wealth of renewable resources; by some estimates, we could generate 150% of our electricity from indigenous renewable resources. However, increased reliance on renewable electricity generation is constrained by a number of factors, including:

Variability of and lack of ability to dispatch some renewable resources
Lack of demand for electricity in off-peak hours
Potential need for dozens of permits at the federal, state, and county levels for each project
Lack of data about the resources themselves, as well as generation characteristics, grid impacts, environmental impacts, and costs
Inadequate grid infrastructure on each island
Isolation of the islands' individual electric grids
Lack of public information about—and thus understanding of—energy systems
Challenge of obtaining financing for energy projects
Need for a workforce trained in renewable energy technologies
Pre-commercial nature of some renewable technologies
Lengthy utility procurement process.