Hoku bankruptcy won’t hurt PV service

The state Department of Transportation, which has photovoltaic systems installed by Hoku Solar at seven locations around the state, won’t experience any disruptions as a result of the company’s bankruptcy filing, a DOT spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Hoku Solar, a subsidiary of Hoku Corp., installed PV systems with a combined generating capacity of nearly 1 megawatt on rooftops of airports on Kauai, Maui and Hawaii island. The systems, when completed in 2009, were owned and operated by an investment company called Hoku Solar Power 1 created by Hoku Solar. The state Department of Transportation signed a 20-year power purchase agreement to buy electricity at a fixed rate from Hoku Solar Power 1.

Hoku Solar later sold Hoku Solar Power 1 to Kairos Energy Capital, said Caroline Sluyter, DOT spokeswoman. Kairos has offices in Honolulu and Boston.

"To the state it is a seamless transition with no change to the PPA and PV service," Sluyter said.

Hoku Corp., Hoku Solar and another affiliated company filed for bankruptcy Tuesday.

Ulupono Initiative invests $175,000 in Volta

Ulupono Initiative has invested $175,000 in Volta Industries to help the Honolulu-based company expand its free-to-use electric vehicle charging network statewide.

Volta designs, installs and maintains public EV chargers and makes them available for free by selling advertising on the units to raise money. The Ulupono funding will allow Volta to more than double the size of its network by adding 15 new chargers.

Officials from Ulupono Initiative, an investment group that focuses on renewable energy, locally produced food and waste reduction, said encouraging the use of EVs is key to reducing the amount of oil Hawaii imports for transportation.

"One of the most important reasons consumers say they don’t choose EVs is concern about their limited range," said Murray Clay, managing partner of Ulupono Initiative. "Increasing the number of stations statewide means more consumers will be able to easily charge their vehicles and avoid range anxiety (the fear of your battery going dead)," he said.

Hawaiian Air passenger traffic up 5.6%

Hawaiian Airlines carried 5.6 percent more passengers in June than a year ago as the rapidly expanded airline benefited from additional routes.

The state’s largest carrier transported 873,387 passengers compared with 827,319 in the year-ago period. Hawaiian’s load factor, or the percentage of seats filled, slipped 1.9 percentage points to 84.6 percent from 86.5 percent.

Revenue passenger miles, or one paying passenger transported one mile, climbed 12.9 percent to 1.2 million from 1.1 million while available seat miles, or one seat transported one mile, jumped 15.5 percent to 1.4 million from 1.2 million.

Reports point to solid U.S. hiring in June

WASHINGTON » U.S. companies stepped up hiring last month, a private survey showed Wednesday. And the government says fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week.

The latest data point to steady job growth, an encouraging sign ahead of Friday’s government report on June employment. Further job gains could lower the unemployment rate, which is still high at 7.6 percent, and help economic growth rebound in the second half of the year.

Teen drivers boost parents’ insurance premiums by 18%

Married couples in Hawaii adding a teenage driver to their auto insurance policies pay an average of 18 percent more, according to research by InsuranceQuotes.com.

The figure compares to a national average increase of 84 percent, or 96 percent for teenage male drivers, and 72 percent for female teens. The average increase is highest for adding a 16-year-old, at 99 percent, a figure that diminishes with each passing year.

Several states exceed the national average increase, with Arkansas topping out at 116 percent in additional premiums. It was among 10 states in which adding a teenage driver doubles premiums.

The other states were Utah (115 percent), Wyoming (112), Alabama (111), Idaho (107), Maine (105), Washington (105), Arizona (104), Louisiana (101) and New Hampshire (101).

Hawaii’s average premium increase is so low because of a state law that prohibits insurance providers from considering age, gender or length of driving experience when determining premiums.

Still, other states with the lowest average premium increases were above Hawaii’s, including North Carolina (59 percent), New York (62), Massachusetts (66) and Montana (66), according to InsuranceQuotes.com.

Motorists urged to stay safe on deadliest day for driving

The Allstate Foundation, an affiliate of insurance company Allstate Corp., is encouraging drivers, especially young drivers, to "X the TXT" today to stay safe on the roads.

An average of 134 roadway deaths occur on July 4 in America each year, making it the deadliest day on U.S. roads, according to research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and cited by the foundation.

IIHS data showed that more than 670 people were killed on the roads on July 4 from 2007 to 2011, which provided the average number of fatalities.

The institute’s research also finds that car crashes are the No. 1 killer of people ages 1 to 34, with teenagers crashing four times more often than any other age group.

Further research by the foundation shows that 75 percent of teens surveyed admitted that reading and responding to texts while driving is distracting, that 39 percent of teen drivers still admit to texting behind the wheel and 6 percent of those say they do it "a lot."

Additionally, 54 percent of teens reported seeing their parents use a phone while driving, up from 37 percent in 2009.

Head-restraint issue prompts recall of 490,000 Chryslers

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. » Chrysler Group LLC says it will recall about 490,000 cars and utility vehicles worldwide because of a problem with active head restraints intended to prevent neck injuries in rear-end collisions.

The carmaker said Wednesday that microcontrollers in the head restraint could be faulty and prevent the system from operating properly. Chrysler says it is unaware of accidents or injuries related to the problem.

Vehicles affected are the 2011-2013 Chrysler Sebring, 200 and Dodge Avenger midsize cars; 2011-2013 Jeep Liberty SUVs and 2011-2012 Dodge Nitro SUVs.

Chrysler is notifying customers and will replace the component or upgrade software at no cost.

ON THE MOVE

The Pali Momi Foundation has elected the following new board members:

>> Vicki L. Gaynor as vice chair to the board. She is currently vice president of administration for Environet Hawaii.

>> Emily Kuraoka is executive vice president and chief operating officer of ABC Corp. Hawaii.

Aloha United Way has named Alexander & Baldwin President and Chief Operating Officer Chris Benjamin as its 2013 campaign chair. The annual fundraiser campaign currently has a goal of $9 million to support programs at nearly 300 local nonprofit organizations. Alexander & Baldwin helped establish and has contributed to Aloha United Way since 1966.