Hawaiian Electric Co. is asking the Public Utilities Commission for authority to build another fossil fuel-fired plant (Honolulu Advertiser, June 19). And a June 21 editorial says this should be the last one.

Hawai'i's consumers lose if HECO is allowed to build this oil-driven power station. Because HECO has dragged its heels on moving to renewable sources of energy, it now cries "wolf" and claims it needs this new fossil fuel plant to provide power to O'ahu residents and businesses.

Wait a minute! What about the vast amount of renewable energy we have in Hawai'i? Wave, wind, solar, and the list goes on.

Do we "reward" HECO for not aggressively pursuing those non-polluting energy technologies by allowing it to stay mired in fossil fuel? Or do we say it is past time for it to stop its oil addiction?

We know the stakes are high. Time magazine's April 3 cover on global warming headlined to readers: "Be Worried. Be Very Worried." Fossil fuel power stations burning oil emit large quantities of greenhouse gases that contribute greatly to global warming. It is irresponsible and, yes, even criminal to let HECO continue to add to this world crisis.

Let's talk about renewable options: The most powerful and commercially available systems use the movements of the ocean to generate power. Called wave energy, this technology is vastly more powerful than wind and solar (but both of the latter still must belong in HECO's renewable portfolio).

Companies from all over the world are looking into this technology and have found that wave energy is the future.

A Portuguese consortium (including a utility company), led by the renewable-energy company Enersis, has contracted with the Scotland-based Ocean Power Delivery for its "Pelamis" wave-energy converters to build the initial phase of the world's first commercial wave farm to generate renewable electricity from ocean forces. Once completed, these wave-energy converters are expected to meet the demands of more than 15,000 Portuguese households, which will lead to the displacing of more than 60,000 tons per year of global warming-producing carbon dioxide emissions from conventional generating plants.

In Denmark, they are working on the Wave Dragon, a slack-moored wave-energy converter that can be deployed in 25-yard water depth. With 15,600 hours of experience, it soon will provide electricity for 40,000 to 60,000 homes, using only seven units.

HECO should now partner with these companies to bring this technology to Hawaiian waters. The economics could work for the companies, as state tax credits exist for investment in non-fossil fuel energy, which is a qualified high-tech business.

The potential for this technology in Hawai'i is enormous. The Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., has identified Hawai'i as a leading site for wave-energy development and says that coastal wave energy has nine to 10 times the energy provided by U.S. hydroelectric dams. Furthermore, studies have found that wave energy could provide 80 percent of the power on O'ahu and all the needed power on the Neighbor Islands at a cheaper price.

Wave energy can help solve the problem of high energy costs. Once a wave project is developed and in place, it can provide power at under 10 cents per kw hour. HECO's cost to consumers on O'ahu is 20.5 cents per kw hour, and on Moloka'i, the cost is 28.8 cents. The low costs associated with the price of wave energy would be a welcome relief to consumers struggling to pay their bills.

Unfortunately, HECO refuses to move forward in developing wave technology because using oil is easier.

We have already seen some success in developing this technology in Hawai'i. A power-generating buoy anchored near Kane'ohe was able to produce electricity despite relatively calm waters during testing in September 2005 before it was brought ashore for upgrades.

Now is not the time to invest in another costly oil-driven power plant that will only make us even more dependent on fossil fuels. As each day goes by, our further dependence on fossil fuels places our livelihood, our economy and our environment in further danger.

The PUC should say "no" to HECO's request to build yet another fossil fuel-fired plant. There are better ways to solve this problem. The seas that surround us can provide a clean, plentiful, reliable and cheap source of energy that can serve as a solution to our energy problem without adding to the global warming crisis.

Let's ride the tide of ocean energy.

Rep. Cynthia Thielen, R-50th, represents Kailua and Mokapu in the state Legislature. She wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.