Hawaii residents pay among the highest energy costs in the country. We are the most oil-dependent state in America — 90 percent dependent on imported fossil fuels for our energy needs. And with the looming threat of global warming, time is not on our side.

An aggressive new state and federal initiative, however, is looking to accelerate the transformation of Hawaii into one of the world’s first economies based primarily on clean energy resources such as wind, solar, ocean, geothermal and bioenergy. The state would also serve as a model for the rest of the nation.

Gov. Linda Lingle and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alexander Karsner signed a non-binding agreement in January to establish this “Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative.”

Through the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, the state will become a test bed for technology and a place for private companies to launch new ventures.

It’s a tall order for Hawaii: 70 percent renewable energy driven by the year 2030. It’s a goal that director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) Ted Liu says will require “a structural transformation of how Hawaii generates, transmits and uses energy.”

Currently, only about eight percent of Hawaii’s energy is provided by renewable sources.

“This is as important as anything else we do for the next three years,” Gov. Lingle said in her State of the State address. “It means moving away from our current over-dependence on oil in favor of renewable energy … and that we do it more rapidly than some would like and others believe possible.

“This partnership is based on the vision that Hawaii must accelerate its transformation to a clean energy future by tapping into the latest national and global advancements, and that our abundant natural sources of energy position us to be a model for the world to show what can be accomplished by developing indigenous renewable energy.”

Liu says that the state’s overdependence on fossil fuels not only poses an environmental threat, but also an economic and security issue. The unconnected power grids of our islands and the state’s location as the world’s most isolated archipelago add to these challenges.

According to the state, Hawaii’s energy paradigm must fundamentally change, and it must be an urgent, rapid transformation.
The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative does not include a specific appropriation of federal money, but the state will be able to tap existing federal dollars for renewable energy projects, says Liu.

Pieces of the project are already getting started with a thorough analysis of the structural elements of Hawaii’s economy. One issue, says Liu, is figuring out how to integrate renewable energies with the existing power grid.

“We’re going to do a series of engineering studies for grid reliability on Oahu, the Big Island and Maui as a building block to see how to get more solar energy on these power grids,” explains Liu. “We believe that once we understand what needs to be done with our infrastructure, that’s where federal and private sector projects are going to be able to come in and supply renewable energy.”

There are more than six other projects, co-funded between DBEDT and the DOE. Efforts will focus on clean energy projects designed to move the smaller neighbor islands toward 100 percent use of renewable energy starting with Lanai. The hope is to sustain the island with solar and wind power as well as stored battery power.

“What we learn from an engineering and technology perspective there can then be translated to other islands.”

Liu adds that they are deploying what the DOE refers to as “community-scale projects,” including the possibility of creating an infrastructure for hybrid plug-in vehicles.

They would also like to look at the possibility of interconnecting all the islands in a united power system. Not only do the islands operate independently from the rest of the nation in terms of power, but they operate independently of each other as well. You can’t just buy power from a neighboring state like you can on the mainland.

Transforming entire energy systems is a monumental task, however — one that will require the help of the private sector and the utility companies, including the Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO).

Under the Clean Air Initiative, there are four working groups that will focus on ways to maximize energy efficiency, tap renewable resources, deliver clean energy to consumers and reduce transportation energy costs.

“As our electric utilities have a responsibility to serve about 95 percent of the people of Hawaii, the Hawaiian Electric Companies are fully involved and committed to this partnership,” says Mike May, president and CEO of HECO. “It is practical in recognizing that the cost and responsibility of implementing solutions must be shared broadly by all stakeholders … and perhaps most important, designing the path for Hawaii’s energy future must consider all that is unique about our islands. One size may not fit all. Prescribed mainland solutions may not be the answer for our island economy and environment.”

May notes that resources mainland states rely on for cheaper, “cleaner” power are simply not options in Hawaii, either because they’re not available or public and political sentiment will not allow it.

“For example,” he says, “large-scale hydro dams, which do have an environmental impact, or nuclear power.”

May says that as we look to change, we have to remember that Hawaii’s dependence on oil is not an accident.

“Years ago, this was a conscious state policy decision,” he says. “We have an integrated energy system that has depended on oil being available and relatively cheap, and it has worked pretty well for decades. Hawaii imports crude oil and refines it for almost all of its energy needs: ground and air transportation, and electricity.

“But today, conditions have changed. Oil is no longer cheap. And we have increasing concerns about our energy security and our vulnerability to disruptions in our oil supply. Also, we now understand global warming and while Hawaii’s contribution to it may not be large compared to the rest of the world, we are among the most vulnerable places in the world to rising sea levels, longer and wetter storms, and drier droughts. We must do out part.”

May says that as an island economy, Hawaii makes a good laboratory for this initiative.

“We can keep track of all the energy sources that come in here and we can track how they are used more easily than on the continental U.S. where fuels and electricity move from state to state and region to region through a large interconnected grid,” he explains.

HECO’s own renewable energy strategy has three main thrusts: the greening of assets, the expansion of renewable energy sources and the acceleration of energy efficiency and load management programs.

Greening assets means using renewable fuels like biodiesel in existing units and working toward the day when biodiesel can be made from locally grown plants and processed here in Hawaii. To this end, HECO is moving ahead on plans to build a new 110-MW power plant on Oahu using clean, renewable biodiesel.

The expansion of renewable energy sources means finding more wind energy, especially on Oahu where there aren’t currently any operating wind farms. The expansion also includes wave, solar, biomass, geothermal and ocean thermal energies.

HECO also offers rebates for home owners who will buy Energy Star® appliances, rebates for home builders who will build energy efficient homes, rebates for solar water heaters, coupons for buying compact fluorescent bulbs, and advice, incentives and rebates for commercial customers who will put in more efficient lighting and cooling equipment.

Issues that many of these various renewable energy sources require to meet the majority of Hawaii’s energy needs are great, however.

“For example, siting is always a challenge when trying to add a wind farm,” says May. “Getting a local agricultural energy industry going to support local production of biofuels will require meeting challenges about land, water and labor. “We have to overcome technological issues like how to move energy between islands or how to store large amounts of electricity from wind farms so it can be used later when the wind isn’t blowing.”

The Hawaii Clean Air Initiative aims to address these issues and find viable solutions for the state.

“This is a unique opportunity to bring all the energy stakeholders to the table and to step back and look at the big picture — not project by project or issue by issue — to determine how we can make some very big change that perhaps would be possible otherwise,” says May.

The timeline for the initiative calls for final strategic implementation plans to be developed by June 2008. These include a set of initial actions needed to jump-start activity in each of the energy performance areas, two-, five- and ten-year goals, and specific actions that will be taken to meet the transformational goals required in each other major areas.

“As we plan for how we ensure a cleaner, more secure energy future, we may find that some of the choices will require short-term burdens, including financial burdens. But if we are serious about energy independence and a better environment for future generations, we need to look at the bigger picture and recognize this is a cost worth paying.”