Hawaii to Ban New Coal Plants, Expand Renewable Energy Usage to 70% by 2030
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY 
on 10.21.08
Wind turbines on Maui, photo: Alvin Smith.
Though Hawaii announced its goal of producing 70% of its total energy needs from renewable sources by 2030 back in January, the program got further support yesterday with the announcement that a “historic accord” has been reached between the current state government and the Hawaiian Electric Company.
Though the details of many of the agreements points have yet to be worked out, what is planned is certainly a step in the right direction. Here they are:
Ban on Coal Plants, Increased RPS, Feed-in-Tariff Creation, Biofuels
The current Renewable Portfolio Standard for electricity is doubled to 40% by 2030.
A new feed-in-tariff system will be created to encourage renewable energy installation. Details on how much different renewable energy technologies will be receiving have not been disclosed.
Conversion of existing fossil fuel generating plants to “renewable biofuels, ultimately using crops grown locally and in a sustainable manner.” Currently Hawaii generates about three-quarters of its electricity from oil-fired plants, so of the efforts outlined here, this one is the big push.
A prohibition on construction of any new coal plants in Hawaii. Considering that Hawaii currently only has one coal fired power plant, this one shouldn't be too difficult.
Solar Hot Water Program Expanded
Expansion of the Pay-As-You-Save program, under which customers can install solar hot water systems with no money down.
Transmission Grid Integration
Construction on an undersea cable connecting Maui, Molokai and Lanai into one electric grid so that 400 MW of wind power generated on Maui can be transmitted to Oahu.
Integration of 1100 MW of “already identified additional renewable energy” into the grid, 700 MW of which will be done within five years.
The complete list of items to be implemented under the agreement is available here: Hawaiian Electric Company
Hawaii, Renewable Energy
Sea-Water Air Conditioning Plan for Honolulu, Hawaii Finishes Funding
Solar Water Heating Mandate for New Hawaiian Homes
Blue Planet Summit Focuses on Renewables in Hawaii
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Cooking on a Budget: Use Everything
- Why Do Some States Have Significantly Lower Carbon Emissions Than Others?
- Holter Graham Visits the Future: Wind Farms Across the Midwest
- Are You at Risk From Wind Turbine Syndrome?
- 5 Reuses for Altoid Tins
- French Pressed Coffee: A Surprisingly Green Luxury, On the Cheap
Maybe this is too nitpicky, but "Hawaii to Ban New Coal Plants..." seems a little misleading. According to the linked article, they're planning on no new fossil fuel plants. Coal is a fossil fuel, sure enough, but I'm pretty sure that Hawaii has no coal generated power now, nor has any been proposed. Hawaii has no coal. I think Hawaii is the only US state that has much oil fired power generation, and although oil must be imported as coal would need to be, it's much easier to transport oil. DB
Ummm...What about geo-thermal? Or is it considered to risky to drill a hole to tap some of the heat from the volcanos?
And then the bad man in me said "We going to be tapping some of that hot volcano ash" and it all went down from there.
This isn't the first time TH has talked about Hawaii. Its cool to see the state is really working on that 70% goal. It really is a great example for the other states- and more than likely it has to do with keeping Hawaii clean (for tourism) and the fact that just about everything (including oil) costs more there.
I know that it is going to be easier for some states to make the move than others. Hawaii is in the renewable sweet spot. They have wind, solar, wave, and geothermal in abundance. If they make a big enough push they might become an energy exporter. They could turn their excess electricity into hydrogen, and support the "hydrogen economy" with some nice American made stuff.
@ Dan
We import the coal to burn at the plant down at Campbell industrial park. You can read about it here:
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2004/06/21/focus4.html
@ Pan
The magma chamber location is well known. Drilling for geothermal is not dangerous.
@ Anthony
We tend to be a lot of talk and no action out here. We voted on a resolution two years ago to increase bike paths on roads, and little has been done.
@ Colin W
The state uses about 2 GW of power. That's about 10 sq miles of concentrated solar power plants. There are 100 square miles of desert on the big island where this could be set up, with high voltage DC lines delivering power to other islands. It's just a matter of will to get the islands 100% fossil-fuel free.