Posted on: Thursday, June 9, 2005
HECO sticking to power plant plan
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawaiian Electric Co. has taken a look at O'ahu's energy needs for the next 20 years and expects rising demand will require construction of a new oil-burning power plant in 2009.
While alternative energy sources — such as wind, waves and ethanol — will become increasingly important, they will not be enough to meet needs of the Island's growing economy.
A draft of HECO's Integrated Resource Plan, released this week, calls for moving forward with plans to build a new power plant that was included in the utility's previous long-range plan submitted to the state Public Utilities Commission in 1998.
Some residents question the wisdom of continuing the island's dependency on oil-powered energy.
"I know we have power problems," said Tim Mallory, a 35-year-old chef from Kalihi. "But it seems like (power plants) can be pretty polluting. We'd have to seriously think about that. I'm not against it, but I'd definitely be concerned about what type of power plant would be built."
Henry Curtis, executive director for the environmental group Life of the Land, said the utility should set a goal of producing 90 percent to 100 percent of O'ahu's energy from renewable resources to cut emissions of greenhouse gasses.
In its current form, HECO's plan conforms to a state mandate requiring that 20 percent of energy needs be met via renewable resources by 2020. Currently about 11 percent of HECO's power is produced from renewable resources.
"I think the majority of people do support moving away from fossil fuels; it's just a question of how," said Curtis, who was part of a 35-member advisory group that worked on the plan. "We probably have taken a more extreme position in that it should be quicker.
"The price of oil will rise while the price for renewables will decline."
Average annual growth for electricity demand on O'ahu is expected to rise 1.3 percent between 2006 and 2010 and 1.1 percent between 2010 and 2015. At the same time, the cost of fuel oil used to produce energy is projected to rise, according to the report. There was no estimate of how those increases could affect customer bills.
Facing concerns about rising oil prices, the draft report relies on a range of alternatives including renewable energy to address a drop in power reserves created by a strong and growing economy, HECO spokeswoman Lynne Unemori said.
Factors used to draft the plan included the cost, reliability and diversity of various energy resources.
"It's not just adding power plants," Unemori said. "We are in fact proposing to meet more energy needs from energy conservation and efficiency as well as renewable energy and tapping the use of new technologies.
"It's our goal, too, to move away from the use of fossil fuels when it's technically feasible."
Among the plans for reducing energy demands are programs geared toward providing low-income customers with high-efficiency equipment and increasing customer awareness about energy options.
Joanne Weldon, a 53-year-old registered nurse at the Queen's Medical Center, would prefer an option to a new oil-fueled power plant.
"There's got to be a better way," said Weldon, who lives on a boat in the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor where she recycles "everything" and chooses not to run the boat's air conditioner because of its energy consumption.
Advertiser staff writer Dan Nakaso contributed to this report. Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093.
