Energy in Hawaii

"Going Green" and using renewable energy are popular topics these days. Construction projects around the world are vying for LEED Certification, and solar panels and wind farms are becoming more commonplace. These efforts may be more important in Hawaii than in many other places. 

Energy on Oahu is up to three times more expensive than on the mainland, and other islands can be even more expensive. This is mainly because of the isolation of our islands. All energy produced on the mainland is connected through a super grid, where very large and efficient plants can provide power for a big area. Energy can be bought and sold between regions of the grid. Obviously Hawaii is not connected to this grid - each of the islands must maintain their own grid which is much smaller and therefore not as efficient. Energy must be created on the same island it is needed on. The majority of the energy in our state comes from oil, which is the most expensive source. Only 1% of the mainland's energy comes from oil, compared to 77% of Hawaii's. Adding to the raw price of oil is the cost of importing the resource from the mainland or other countries to our islands. This costs Hawaii about $6 billion per year. Obviously this high price tag is a great  motivator toward using renewable energy. Hawaii has some other advantages as well.

The unique natural environment of Hawaii creates great opportunities for renewable energy. Of course all of the islands have potential for solar and wind energy. The bigger islands could also use wave, biomass, and waste-to-energy programs. Maui and the Big Island have geothermal possibilities, and Oahu, Maui, and Molokai could generate hydroelectric energy. With all of these options and our modest population, it is actual feasible for Hawaii to fulfill all of its energy needs through renewable resources.  So we have motive and potential to fix our energy problem. What is holding us back?

One problem with renewable energy is that it is not as constant as more traditional sources. The sun only shines for half of the day, and winds are fickle. If we rely entirely on renewable energy, how can we deal with the intermittent sources? Another problem lies in the distribution of the islands. Lanai and Molokai can generate the most energy from wind farms, but that energy is actually needed on Oahu. Lastly, implementing new sources of energy is very costly upfront, so we would need to pay more now for savings down the road. In a tough economy, that can be a difficult concept for tax payers and consumers. Luckily, our government has dedicated itself to this task.

The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative has created a goal of having 70% clean energy in our state by 2030. This goal will likely be met with 40% renewable energy and 30% conservation and efficiency. This means that not only are we investing in new sources of energy, we also need to invest in outreach to consumers. In order to reduce costs and stabilize our economy for the future, we need to all learn how to conserve energy now. This can be done to some extent by changing to energy efficient light bulbs and appliances, but it is more important for energy customers to be aware of their power usage. 

Initiatives such as the Smart Meter, WattDepot, and the Kukui Cup all share a goal of letting consumers be more conscious of how much power they are using. These are important tools in making customers part of the process of fixing our energy problems. When we combine all of these factors, we see that our state is in a unique position to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead of us.