Across the globe, 2015 was a bright year for renewable energy.
From the Paris Climate Agreement to the extension of the U.S. tax credits for wind and solar, great strides were made to combat climate change through policies supporting renewable energy.
It was also a groundbreaking 2015 in Hawaii with the passage of a law to reach 100 percent clean energy by 2045. Our community was set to reap the benefits of renewable energy — or so we thought.
Fast forward to 2016 and what a difference a new year makes.
The Hawaii Renewable Energy Association (HREA) has been following with frustration how the Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI) companies have essentially killed three planned solar farms and a biomass facility, while also cancelling protracted negotiations that started in 2012 for a geothermal plant.
HREA agrees with the Star-Advertiser’s editorial (“HECO actions need better explanation,” Our View, Feb. 21) and with Public Utilities Commission Chairman Randy Iwase that HECO needs to explain why the utility has taken these drastic actions, particularly against the three SunEdison solar projects that were already in construction.
It’s like being in a marathon and getting tripped, just inches from the finish line.
What’s happened to these three solar projects and other renewable energy projects recently is a signal to other clean energy companies to not come to Hawaii, and for energy investors to not put their money here.
If HEI can trip up independent power producers after they have PUC approval, have invested millions, and even are in construction, then the risks are too high. This could jeopardize getting to 100 percent. We can’t let that happen.
Consider how hard it is to get through the HECO procurement process.
In 2013, HECO invited bidders to participate in an “expedited” waiver process for new clean energy projects on Oahu.
These large-scale projects were asked to contract with HECO to put clean energy directly onto the grid at less than 17 cents per kilowatt hour, the lowest price yet for clean power on Oahu.
HECO received 24 bids — mostly solar — and selected 11 projects with power prices below 16 cents.
After further negotiation, HECO signed seven contracts and sent them to the PUC, who ended up approving four of the projects, all priced below 14 cents.
With last month’s action, HECO is terminating three of those four remaining projects, which would leave only one project coming online to produce clean energy.
When only one project out of 24 survives, the process is broken.
Today the risks and costs to build wind or solar farms in Hawaii far exceed those of similar projects on the mainland. All risks are currently put on the independent power producers, who must submit their bids to HECO before they know how much HECO will charge to connect to the grid (usually several to tens of millions of dollars) and before knowing how much HECO will “curtail” energy, essentially turning down output of the projects and not paying for the energy that would’ve been produced.
Add to those risks the possibility that the utility might cancel their PUC-approved contracts if they miss any intermediate deadlines, and it becomes very difficult for energy developers to put that kind of capital at risk.
It’s difficult to understand why developing renewable projects has become such a grueling marathon.
If we envision a brighter renewable energy future for our state, let’s first get as many of the current approved renewable energy projects across the finish line by the end of this year and then work on fixing our process to reduce unnecessary risks, costs and inefficiencies for future projects.
Reaching 100 percent clean energy is possible. It just takes all of us to get there.
