High oil prices have pushed the topic of Hawai'i's oil dependence to the fore this legislative session, with both major political parties backing proposals to increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy.

Nearly everyone agrees that Hawai'i can do more to wean itself off fossil fuels and reduce energy and fuel bills. The question is: How do you get there? Right now, it appears there's some agreement on key issues such as increasing efficiency of state buildings, boosting tax incentives for using solar power and financing exploration of other alternative energy sources.

"That's a good starting point, if progress toward energy independence is going to come this session," said state Rep. Hermina Morita, D-14th (Kapa'a, Hanalei), who is chairwoman of the House Energy & Environmental Protection Committee. "It's not going to be a magic bullet, but a variety of different actions that lead you to that goal."

At the same time, Republican Gov. Linda Lingle is seeking a repeal of a controversial gasoline price-cap law, which was one of the Democrat-controlled Legislature's priorities in recent years. Potentially, that could derail consensus on other energy efforts.

Ted Liu, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said he hopes Lingle's effort to repeal price caps in favor of deregulation and increased oil-industry scrutiny doesn't drown out other energy-related proposals.

"It's gotta be looked at in the context of an overall package. If we limit ourselves to a debate over gas caps, that could go on for the next three or four years" before being settled, Liu said.

For decades, Hawai'i lawmakers and others have lamented the state's dependence on oil. And progress has been made. Hawai'i has succeeded in increasing the use of solar water heaters via tax credits, and in April, state law will require that gasoline contain 10 percent of the renewable fuel ethanol.

Still, only 8.2 percent of Hawai'i's energy needs were filled by renewable fuels as recently as 2003, according to one state estimate. By 2020, officials hope that 20 percent of Hawai'i's energy needs can be met by renewable sources such as ethanol, solar, geothermal and wind power.

A BOOST FOR HYBRIDS?

Officials aren't just looking at ways to cut down on the energy sector's use of oil, but the transportation sector as well. Lingle wants to make fuel-stingy electric-gasoline hybrid cars more attractive to Island drivers by allowing hybrid drivers to use carpool lanes and exempting them from vehicle registration fees.

House and Senate Republicans want to create a general excise tax break for buyers of hybrid autos along with other incentives. While more fuel-efficient than conventional cars, hybrids also cost more to buy. It can take years for buyers to recoup the added up-front expense.

A state tax credit would complement federal credits, making the payoff for switching to a hybrid more immediate, said Melanie Jakahi, a real-estate agent and hybrid owner in Pearl City.

"I think that would be helpful," she said. "That really helps. Before, I used to fill up twice a week. Now I fill up once every 10 days, so it's a good way to cut down on oil dependence," she added.

Both Lingle and the Democrats also want to boost existing tax credits for buyers of costly solar power or photovoltaic systems. Such systems, which use the sun to generate electricity, cost as much as a new car, with a typical installation costing $26,000, according to Keith Cronin, owner of Island Energy Solutions Inc., which installs photovoltaic systems. Such a system could reduce a home's reliance on an electric utility by about 50 percent.

BIGGER TAX CREDITS?

The state now provides residential buyers of photovoltaic systems a tax credit of $1,750 — a figure Lingle wants to raise to $10,000. Democrats are seeking to increase the credit to $5,000 while conducting a pilot project in which photovoltaic systems are installed in four schools.

"I think if the state would pay up as much as $5,000, it would be a big benefit to our business and for our small state and our addiction to the oil drug," Cronin said.

Hawai'i isn't alone in seeking more power from the sun. California energy regulators recently approved a plan to provide $2.9 billion in rebates for people who install solar power systems.

So far, there are a little more than 100 photovoltaic systems installed in Hawai'i, said Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman Chuck Freedman. He said HECO supports credits for photovoltaic systems, advanced pricing tariffs under which consumers would pay more for electricity during peak use periods and efforts to make it easier to get permits for renewable energy projects.

At the same time, HECO disagrees with proposals that would make the utility liable for rising fuel costs or that would divert more money from an energy-efficiency surcharge on consumers to support energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, Freedman said.

"Generally speaking, there's a lot of common ground," Freedman said of the proposals advanced by Lingle and others. "As a utility, we really are doing a lot in renewable energy and energy efficiency. We need to do more, so we're not done yet."

COSTS WILL BE HIGHER

Reducing oil consumption won't be cheap. Cost estimates for the variety of energy conservation and efficiency efforts vary and in some cases are nonexistent or sketchy. Under Lingle's plan, increasing the energy efficiency of new state buildings will increase construction costs up to 10 percent but reduce operating costs by 30 percent.

Under a Democratic proposal, boosting the energy efficiency of new and existing state buildings could cost $100 million. Regardless of the price, ultimately lawmakers will need to spend money in order to cut the state's electricity bill, said Lowell Kalapa, president of the nonprofit Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

"If they don't do it, they're going to be more up the creek in the future," he said. "Every building is going to get more expensive" to operate.

Rep. Morita agreed. She said the high cost of electricity is raising the awareness of lawmakers of the importance of alternative energy and energy efficiency.

"I think we struggled for years when people just looked at this as an environmental issue," she said. "People are beginning to realize that it's an important economic issue for the state."

Among other proposals, Lingle also wants to create a $10 million fund to invest in hydrogen power technologies.

'Alewa Heights resident Kendrick Lee said the state should push ahead with research into hydrogen power and other renewable energy sources.

"We're kind of out here in the middle of the ocean, so doing some research into this stuff makes sense," he said. "Provide tax credits or something, but somebody has got to do the research without having to worry about how they're going to make a buck."

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.