Electric Vehicles Come to Hawaii

Blog post from U.S. Dept. of Energy:

Hawaii Energy Program Brings Electric Vehicles to the Big Island

January 31, 2012 

Last July, Governor Neil Abercrombie unveiled the first public charging station installed in the state capitol’s underground parking garage with the "Hawaii EV Ready" program. In 2011, rebates were approved for 237 electric vehicles and 168 chargers. | Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor.

By 2030, the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative will:

• Generate 40 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable energy sources.
• Implement energy efficiency measures to cut energy demand by 30 percent.

Hawaii is the most oil dependent state in the nation with more than 95 percent of its energy supplied by imported fossil fuels. Gas and electricity prices are also far above the national average. To increase its energy independence, Hawaii is revving up its state electric vehicle program, “EV Ready,” thanks to $4.5 million in funding from the Energy Department’s State Energy Program and the Recovery Act.

As part of the program administered by Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), residents and businesses can apply for rebates and grants to purchase electric vehicles and construct charging stations. In 2011, rebates were approved for 237 electric vehicles and 168 chargers.  

Last July, Governor Neil Abercrombie unveiled the first public charging station installed in the state capitol’s underground parking garage. Since then, five additional charging stations have been installed at state-owned buildings in Honolulu, and another eight chargers at the motor pool for the state's new fleet of electric vehicles.

The state awarded another $2.6 million in Recovery Act funds to six organizations charged with promoting, installing and deploying charging stations and electric vehicles across the state. Those organizations so far have installed 220 charging stations at 120 sites, introduced 18 EVs to public and private fleets, promoted the benefits of EVs to the hospitality industry and developed the "Hawaii EV Ready Guidebook."

Transportation fuel accounts for 30 percent of liquid fuel consumption in the state, or 75 million gallons per year. Measures associated with the EV Ready program aim to reduce Hawaii’s ground transportation fuel use by 70 percent by 2030.

The EV Ready program aligns with the goals of the broader Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI), a public-private partnership between Hawaii, the Energy Department and other governmental and private groups. The initiative intends to generate 40 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030, and implement energy efficiency measures to cut energy demand by 30 percent.

New Tool to Access 2010 GHG Data

News Release from the EPA:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:January 10, 2012
Media Alert: EPA to Hold Webinar to Showcase a New Tool to Access 2010 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data from Large Facilities

WASHINGTON – For the first time, comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) data reported directly from large facilities and suppliers across the country are now easily accessible to the public through EPA’s GHG Reporting Program. The 2010 GHG data to be released includes public information from facilities in nine industry groups that directly emit large quantities of GHGs, as well as suppliers of certain fossil fuels and high global warming gases. 

WHAT: Media teleconference to explain the agency’s new tool for accessing greenhouse gas emissions data

WHO: Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 11, 2012, noon, Eastern Time

HOW: To participate, please use the following dial-in numbers.
Call-in: (866) 900-8984 Toll Free for U.S. and Canada; and (706) 679-8357 for international callers

Conference ID: 41836951
To access the Webinar use GoToWebinar link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/288135930

(Archive Article) Green Power's High Cost Scuttles Projects

The following was gleaned from a New York Times article with the above title published on or about November 8, 2010.

Electricity generated from wind or sun still generally costs more — and sometimes a lot more — than the power squeezed from coal or natural gas. 

Prices for fossil fuels have dropped in part because the recession has reduced demand. 

In the case of natural gas, newer drilling techniques have opened the possibility of vast new supplies for years to come.

The gap in price can pit regulators, who see their job as protecting consumers from unreasonable rates, against renewable energy developers and utility companies, many of which are willing to pay higher prices now to ensure a broader energy portfolio in the future.

In April, for example, the state public utilities commission in Rhode Island rejected a power-purchase deal for an offshore wind project that would have cost 24.4 cents a kilowatt-hour. The utility now pays about 9.5 cents a kilowatt hour for electricity from fossil fuels.

The state legislature responded by passing a bill allowing the regulators to consider factors other than price. The commission then approved an agreement to buy electricity from a smaller wind farm, although that decision is being challenged in the courts.

Companies that make solar cells and wind machines argue that a national energy policy is needed to guarantee them a market that will allow their industry to develop.

The United States has relied on a combination of state renewable energy mandates and federal tax credits to encourage greater reliance on energy from renewable sources. Legislation that would have set a price on carbon-dioxide emissions and included a standard for increasing the share of clean energy in the nation’s electricity portfolio failed in Congress this year.