The Hawaiian Power Update
Hawaii‘s largest utility, the Hawaiian Electric Company, generated 26% of the electricity its customers used from renewable sources in 2016. Consequently, Hawaiian Electric reduced its oil usage by 10.7 million barrels from 2008 to 2016, a 21% decrease. The State of Hawaii has a mandate for utilities to reach 100% renewable energy by 2045. HawaiianElectric says it expects to reach that goal five years early.Of the 26% renewable power resources, more than a third of the electricity came from rooftop solar panels. Solar was followed closely by wind energy that provided 29% of therenewable energy. Biomass contributed 19% and 11% came from geothermal energy.
On Hawaii Island, which has the State’s only geothermal energy plant, more than half of the energy used came from renewable resources. Maui reached 37% renewables. On Oahu, where demand is greatest, 19% of the electricity came from renewables.
The rooftop solar industry slowed over the past year after thePublic Utilities Commission in late 2015 ended net energy metering which credited customers for excess electricity generated at any given time. A replacement program called “customer grid supply” reimbursed customers for excess energy at a lower rate, but it too reached a cap on the eligible number of customers. The Commission recently decided to re-open the customer grid supply program for about 2,800 more private rooftop solar systems, half on Oahu.
Also on the islands, Tesla is framing up a demonstration project on Kauai with thousands of solar panels and giant battery packs. In partnership with the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) the project will store the sun’s energy during the day and release it at night. The solar farm comprises 54,978 solar panels, which have 13 MW of capacity as well as 272, 52-MWh Tesla Powerpack lithium-ion battery storage systems. Using stored energy from Tesla’s powerpacks is expected to save KIUC 1.6 million gallons of diesel fuel annually.