USA, Hawaii:

Big Island Utility Targets 92% Renewable Energy By 2030 (CleanTechnica)

Geothermal Energy could deliver a big part of the additional capacity

The Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO) submitted a long-term energy plan to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission that includes a target goal of hitting 92% renewable electricity by the year 2030. So, if this goal is reached, the big island would be almost energy independent in just sixteen years.

Currently, the big island gets its geothermal power from the 38 MW Puna Geothermal Venture plant. HELCO has spent some time investigating the feasibility of constructing a new 50 MW geothermal plant, but there has been some criticism that the process has taken too long. For example, Senator Malama Solomon wrote a letter to the Public Utilities Commission expressing disappointment over the delay, “For the past several years consumers on Hawaii Island have sought to expedite the production of affordable renewable geothermal energy…geothermal development has not progressed because HELCO/HECO have refused to retire their old fossil fuel plants in order to integrate cheaper renewable energy, including geothermal energy, onto the grid.”

Governor Neil Ambercrombie is for geothermal power, “If there is anything on Earth, or in Earth, that says to us as a species, as stewards of this planet, that here is a resource for your utilization and for your proper regard, and to be a steward of, it’s geothermal. And the Big Island could not be better situated for it.”

The big island is the renewable energy leader among the Hawaiian islands. About 24% of its electricity comes from geothermal power.

Read More......