Why do we seek more renewable energy?
Our world is changing
In an age of international terror and other security threats at home and abroad, depending on imported oil is just too dangerous. Much of the oil we use comes from politically and socially volatile places where Americans are not liked. Developing nations like China and India are using more oil and creating competition for energy resources. On top of this, oil and all fossil fuels are a finite resource. Many experts believe the world’s oil supply will soon peak, if it has not already. Oil prices are high and likely to stay high. We must loosen oil’s grip, and to do so we need a variety of energy resources, with more under our own local control.
Renewable energy helps keep our air and water cleaner and helps reduce our impact on global warming. As an island state in the middle of the Pacific, Hawaii is especially vulnerable to rising sea levels and more intense storms and drought, all effects of global warming. All countries must act to return to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million or less; it is now 385 ppm and rising.
As a small place with relatively low energy use per capita, Hawaii’s contribution to global warming in miniscule. But how can we ask others to make changes unless we are doing all we can to reduce our impact on climate change? We must do our part. See our global warming policy below.
Learn more about returning the 350 ppm.
Hawaii sends billion of dollars a year out of state to import fuel for energy. Getting more energy from our local resources will keep more of that money at home, creating jobs and opportunities. Energy from local agriculture will also make green, productive use of open lands.
Though many states are very dependent on a single source of fuel for electricity:
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Few other states are as dependent on a single source as Hawaii; |
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Few other states are as dependent on an imported energy source; and |
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No other state is as dependent as Hawaii on oil for its electricity and ground and air transportation needs. |
Public Policy, Government and Economy
Hawaiian Electric is a corporation made up of people who live, work and play in Hawaii with their families. They are your friends and neighbors. Many shareholders are Hawaii residents as well, and all want to “do the right thing.” All realize a continued dependence on fossil fuel is not possible, in additional to no longer being desirable.
Moving off fossil fuels to renewable energy is the “right thing to do,” most people agree, and there are other strong factors at work:
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Hawaii has a renewable portfolio standard, or RPS, law, requiring that 20 percent of electricity sales come from certifiable energy efficiency or renewable energy by 2020. |
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In 2007, Hawaii became the second state, after California, to pass a global warming solutions act which calls for a return to 1990 levels of carbon emissions by 2020. A state commission will calculate the 1990 baseline and determine how this goal will be achieved. But with air and sea transportation off the table for now, a good deal of the impact will fall on the electric utilities. |
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In 2008, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle and the U.S. Department of Energy -- with our strong support and full cooperation -- signed the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. This working agreement has a very aggressive goal of reaching 70 percent renewable energy for electricity and transportation by 2030. |
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Few are more keenly aware of the rising price and uncertainty of supply of oil than people who work in the electric utilities. Just as we have all seen gasoline prices jump at the pump, we have seen the prices for the fuel we use nearly triple in the last decade, with a dramatic jump in the last two years.
Customers have seen their bills rise accordingly. At Hawaiian Electric, we are concerned about this and working to find alternative solutions. Moving to renewable energy will take a large investment at first. Costs for some kinds of renewable energy may be as high as or higher than fossil fuel. But we expect the cost of renewable energy to be more stable and rise more slowly than the cost of fossil fuel, especially when carbon controls are added. |
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