Lower Electric Bills Or More Jobs? Hawaii Grapples With A Green Economy…Lawmakers did an abrupt — and secretive — about-face as the session ended when they revamped a bill putting limits on some renewable energy sources.
In March, the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee heard a controversial bill with enormous implications for renewable energy in Hawaii.
The overarching idea, pushed by Hawaii Senate Ways and Means Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz, was for the Legislature to prescribe by law that each island generate at least 55% of its renewable energy from “firm renewables,” primarily generators burning things like wood, renewable natural gas and biodiesel.
In the face of concerns from a range of parties including Hawaiian Electric, the State Energy Office and the University of Hawaii’s Natural Energy Institute, the Energy and Environmental Protection Committee’s chair, Rep. Nicole Lowen, led a unanimous committee vote to delete the prescriptive language.
