By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Columnist

Many island groups that, like Hawai'i, are isolated from continental power grids are using far greater renewable energy resources than Hawai'i does.

Life of the Land hopes to persuade the Legislature and the state's energy utilities to change that.

"Our No. 1 priority in the coming legislative session is a mandatory renewable energy portfolio standard," said Henry Curtis, executive director of the environmental group. The organization is proposing that the state's utilities be required to increase their use of renewables, such as wave, wind and solar power, by 1 percentage point each year, to reach 20 percent of total power consumption by 2020 and 30 percent by 2030.

The experience of other island groups shows that isn't far-fetched, Curtis said.

Fiji gets 79 percent of its power from renewables, mostly hydroelectric. Iceland, which produces mainly geothermal power, also runs at 79 percent renewable. Other island groups with more than 30 percent renewable energy production include Reunion in the Indian Ocean off Africa, Samoa, San Miguel in the Azores, Corsica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, according to Curtis.

"Each of these islands uses what they have available," he said.

Several countries — notably Austria, Sweden, Portugal and Italy — produce more than 30 percent of their power from renewable resources, and parts of the United States are powered substantially by hydroelectric power, another renewable resource, although that has its own environmental issues, notably with respect to fisheries.

Hawaiian Electric and its sister companies are producing about 6 percent of their power from renewable resources, including geothermal on the Big Island and O'ahu's H-Power garbage-to-energy plant.

Curtis said the Islands have many sites appropriate for wind energy, and he is encouraged by a Navy project to develop wave energy here. And, "there are great applications for solar."

An aggressive renewable energy program in Hawai'i would keep money in the state that would otherwise be paid out for fossil fuels, decrease pollution, generate jobs and diversify the economy, he said.

Life of the Land also will work in the coming Legislature to protect agricultural land, Curtis said. Much of the state's agricultural land designation was built on a parcel's appropriateness for large-scale plantation agriculture — namely, pineapple and sugar — but may not reflect the best qualities for the growing diversified agriculture economy, he said.

"We need to look for what's good for diversified agriculture, and we need to ensure that agricultural land is preserved," he said.

Jan TenBruggencate is The Advertiser's Kaua'i bureau chief and its science and environment writer. Reach him at (808) 245-3074 or jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.