Senate bill 715 and House bill 623 would raise Hawaii's RPS goals to 70% by 2030 and 100% by 2040. The existing RPS is scheduled to climb to 40% by 2030.
House Energy and Environment Committee chairman Chris Lee and his Senate counterpart, Mike Gabbard, both Democrats, are primary sponsors of the bills.
Nearly all of Hawaii's fuel is imported, given its remote location and limited local fossil-fuel resources. Its electricity prices are the highest of the US states by more than 10¢/kWh. The state has "excellent" wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, hydropower and ocean energy resources, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) says. The U.S. Department of Energy has a partnership with the state to transform the island's fuel mix to reach 70% "clean" energy by 2030.
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