HONOLULU — Hawaii is moving forward with plans to build an undersea cable that would bring wind power from the island of Maui to Oahu.

Government renewable energy officials announced Thursday they are accepting bids from contractors to do an environmental study of the cable’s possible impacts on whales, the ocean floor and coral reefs.
It could take between two and three years to finish the study and obtain permits, and then it would take only a few months to build the cable itself.
Gov. Linda Lingle says the cable is needed to wean the Islands off their dependence on foreign oil, which sucks money out of the state and could wreck the local economy if it were ever cut off.