USA, Hawaii:

Hawaiian Electric Companies Submit Plans for Hawaii's Energy Future (Biobased Digest)

Plan calls for more than 65 percent renewable energy by 2030

Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (Hawaiian Electric), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., and its subsidiaries, Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc. and Maui Electric Company, Limited, have proposed plans for Hawaii's energy future that will lower electric bills, give customers more service options and nearly triple the amount of distributed solar while achieving the highest level of renewable energy in the nation by 2030.

The companies' planned state-of the-art electric systems for Oahu, Maui County, and Hawaii Island will form the foundation for this new energy future. The plans are meant to address the comprehensive orders issued by the Public Utilities Commission in April.

Hawaii's energy environment is changing more rapidly than anywhere else in the country. Currently, in Hawaii, more than 18 percent of the electricity used by customers comes from renewable resources, ahead of the state goal of 15 percent by 2015. Hawaii has one of the most diverse renewable energy portfolios in the country, including solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biofuel, and hydroelectric sources of power. Ocean power is also a promising option for the future.

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