In a move toward making the costs of transitioning to clean energy more transparent to ratepayers, the state Public Utilities Commission has directed Hawaiian Electric Co. to publicly disclose pricing information negotiated for renewable-energy contracts. In the past, utility officials have disclosed pricing for some contracts, but not others. The change has affected recent applications […]
Big Island Algae Biofuel Co Changes Name
HR BioPetroleum changed its name to Cellana Inc. The company develops algae-based biofuels and bioproducts and has a 6-acre demonstration facility in Kona on the Big Island. It formed Cellana LLC as a joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell PLC and became the sole owner of Cellana LLC this January, according to the statement. Read […]
First Wind vs Pattern Energy Squabble
First Wind CEO Paul Gaynor criticizes Castle & Cooke’s decision give 200 megawatts of its wind allocation for the “Big Wind-interisland cable” project to Pattern Energy for a wind farm on Molokai. The Big Wind project seeks to bring 400 mw of wind energy from Molokai and Lanai to Oahu via an undersea cable. The […]
Legislature Kills PACE bill
Energy Chairman Denny Coffman said yesterday he had too many “concerns” about how the legislation would work and killed HB1520, which would have allowed residents to finance renewable energy installations through their utility bills. Coffman, a Democrat representing Kailua-Kona, said existing tax credits and private sector incentives already significantly reduce the cost of installing energy-efficient […]
Lana’i Fishery Mngmt Bill in Limbo
HB850 HD1 SD2 Lana’i Fishery Management Area – This establishes a community-based fishery resource management area around Lana’i, and an advisory committee to the Department of Land and Natural Resources to develop traditional fishery management practices, and advise proposed rules for take of fishery resources. No conference committee hearings have been scheduled as of this […]
Hawaiian Fishponds Bill Advances
HB377 HD2 SD2 Relating to Public Lands – This provides state lease preferences to developers of Hawaiian fishponds and streamlines approval process for Hawaiian fishpond lease applicants. The Senate JDL passed the bill with amendments which included deletion of the provisions requiring DLNR to establish a public land trust inventory and public land trust information […]