Aloha! Green Power!!

May 8, 2015 JanF Featured Posts, News and Opinion 2


From ThinkProgress: Hawaii Will Soon Get All Of Its Electricity From Renewable Sources

The state legislature sent a bill to the governor’s desk this week that moves the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) up to 100 percent by 2045 — which means that all electricity provided by the electric companies will have to come from renewable sources like solar and wind. Nationwide, electricity generation makes up about a third of all carbon emissions.

“We’ll now be the most populated set of islands in the world with an independent grid to establish a 100 percent renewable electricity goal,” State Senator Mike Gabbard (D) told ThinkProgress in an email. “Through this process of transformation we can be the model that other states and even nations follow. And we’ll achieve the biggest energy turnaround in the country, going from 90 percent dependence on fossil fuels to 100 percent clean energy.”

One out of every eight homes in Hawaii has solar. Commercially, 10 percent of the electricity comes from solar and about 25% from geothermal. But most of Hawaii’s electricity is from expensive oil burning power plants which makes the transition to solar an economic win and an environmental win.

Island Pacific Energy is one of the companies at the forefront:

At Island Pacific Energy we believe that a photovoltaic system is one of the best investments you can make. […]

We understand that a renewable energy facility is about more than lower energy costs and stable electric rates. It’s about the opportunity to provide knowledge and information about conservation, renewability, sustainability and respecting the environment.

Another company planning on getting into the market talks about the new Tesla battery:

SolarCity co-founder Lydon Rive said his company plans to offer solar plus storage in Hawaii next year, allowing homeowners to go completely off the grid, as E&E News reported this week. The new Tesla battery can serve as a “hedge against bad policy outcomes,” Rive said.

From Tesla, the Powerwall:

Powerwall is a home battery that charges using electricity generated from solar panels, or when utility rates are low, and powers your home in the evening. It also fortifies your home against power outages by providing a backup electricity supply. Automated, compact and simple to install, Powerwall offers independence from the utility grid and the security of an emergency backup.

Solar Powered Day and Night

The average home uses more electricity in the morning and evening than during the day when solar energy is plentiful. Without a home battery, excess solar energy is often sold to the power company and purchased back in the evening. This mismatch adds demand on power plants and increases carbon emissions. Powerwall bridges this gap between renewable energy supply and demand by making your home’s solar energy available to you when you need it.

Powerwall announcement, April 30, 2015

Elon Musk: “Let’s not win the Darwin award”.

Good advice.

2 Comments

  1. The islands’ electric companies are the biggest bottleneck:
    From the Think Progress article:

    HECO, the Hawaiian Electric Companies, which comprises the state’s three major utilities, has come under fire for not integrating solar quickly enough. Some residents who have installed solar have had to wait as long as 18 months for the utility to interconnect their systems to the grid. In March, HECO sent some costumers a notice that interconnections would be indefinitely postponed, but the Public Service Committee immediately fired back, telling the utility it has an “affirmative duty” to interconnect customers.

    I hope the PSC holds their feet to the fire.

  2. One state moving forward, another moving backward: In Kansas, Renewable Energy Could Soon Be A Goal, Not A Requirement

    Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R), along with representatives from the wind energy industry, legislative leadership, and conservative and business groups, announced a deal Monday to make the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) optional, rather than a mandate.

    The agreement is the culmination of several attempts to roll back the RPS, which requires utilities to get 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources, such as wind and solar. Last year, Brownback urged wind energy and conservative business groups to come to a compromise on the issue. […]environmental groups expressed concern about the plan. Zack Pistoria, spokesman for the Kansas Sierra Club, told the Wichita Eagle the bill was “a backroom deal” that did not represent Kansans’ position on renewable energy.

    A poll last year, funded in part by the Wind Coalition, along with several environmental groups, found that 75 percent of Kansas voters supported the RPS. More than 90 percent of respondents supported using renewable energy.

    Industry insiders dispute the assertion that Kansas’ action is part of a larger trend, but in recent months several states, including Texas and North Carolina, have seen legislative challenges to their Renewable Portfolio Standards.

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