Kauai Quit Using Oil To Produce Most Of Its Electricity Years Ago. That’s Paying Off Now … Oil prices are surging due to the Russian invasion, but the island’s dwindling reliance on fossil fuels is helping to stabilize utility bills.
In 2008, Kauai’s electric utility set an aggressive goal to power half the island with renewable energy.
The plan was so ambitious that no one knew exactly how it could be achieved. At the time, plantation-era hydroelectric plants accounted for about 8% of the island’s electricity production. The rest was powered by foreign oil.
It was also an expensive proposal. Solar technology was unaffordable for most homeowners back then and utility-scale solar didn’t exist yet in Hawaii.
