The state-imposed deadline for generating 100% of electricity sales from renewable resources is 25 years down the road. The same finish line is in place for all four counties to fully transform ground transportation to renewable fuel.
While progress is in the works toward both goals, there’s still a long road ahead in the shift to clean-
energy sustainability. Slated to go before the Honolulu City Council next month is Bill 25, which updates the city’s Energy Conservation Code and holds some promise to move Oahu forward.
The measure adopts the latest state Energy Code and folds in Oahu-specific amendments. The Council’s Zoning, Planning and Housing Committee this week approved a draft that scales down proposals for renewable hot water heating and electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure.
The Council should reinstate the bill’s initial call to reach above and beyond the state requirements in regards to water heating, which accounts for at least one-third of the energy load in most homes.
Twelve years ago, the state enacted a law requiring new homes to be built with solar water heaters. But allowable exemptions, such as in cases of inadequate sunlight or installation of a gas appliance, created a loophole that prompted a lawsuit, filed by Earthjustice on behalf of the Sierra Club and Hawaii Solar Energy Association.
Last year, a Circuit Court judge ruled that the state had wrongfully been allowing “wholesale” exemptions: In recent years, it had approved 99% of requests for exemption, clearing the way for fossil-
fuel-powered tankless gas water heaters.
Following the ruling, the state has rightly expanded its vetting process, setting the exemption bar much higher.
Bill 25’s initial draft required installation of solar or an alternate technology that advances renewable energy. Technology to be tapped in exemption cases would include: a grid-interactive water heater; a heat pump water heater; or a gas-powered water heater fueled by a source that’s at least 90% renewable.
That proposal would have essentially shut out tankless gas water heaters. Today’s revised Bill 25 tethers Honolulu to the state’s tightened standards: while it would take a clean-energy step forward over the city’s existing energy code, it is less ambitious than the original bill.
The moves to scale down the water-heating proposal and EV requirements (explained below) are said to be linked to consumer affordability.
Supporters of the bill’s current draft maintain that even a slight increase in the price of construction can spell trouble for housing affordability. And affordable units are already in chronic short supply.
The initial proposal for electric-vehicle infrastructure required, in most cases, that at least 25% of parking stalls in new multi-unit residential structures must be “EV charger ready”; and that new single-family houses be similarly fitted with wiring and conduit for charging.
The revised Bill 25 exempts multi-unit housing reserved for residents with incomes at or below Honolulu’s area median income, which is set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Requiring 25% of new affordable-housing stalls to be EV-ready likely overshoots current demand, as many in such households are likely to be driving less-expensive gasoline vehicles.
Still, it’s hoped that vehicle cost parity will come in the next several years. It really is that near-term prospect that should drive the city to establish EV-ready requirements in multi-unit housing to avoid future haves and have-nots inequity. On the road to more clean energy, the city’s Energy Conservation Code will likely need many updates.
