Hawaii Gas plans to share information regarding pricing for its planned bulk liquefied natural gas shipments to the Islands next month, the utility’s president and CEO told PBN this week.
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“Governor Ige reaffirmed his commitment to 100 percent renewable energy for power generation and we support his vision”, Moy said.
Both Hawaiian Electric (HECO) and Hawaii Gas have floated plans to construct import terminals, with gas deliveries beginning to reach the state in 2019.
“Any time and money spent on LNG is time and money not spent on renewable energy”, said Ige during the Asia Pacific Resilience Innovation Summits & Expo, a three-day conference on energy strategies.
He also said his administration will actively oppose the construction of any future LNG receiving stations. But while the expectation would be a switch to liquefied natural gas (LNG), Hawaii’s government posits that renewable energy like solar and wind power should no longer be thought of as simply an “alternative” supplement but a viable primary source. Thus the electric company continues its push for LNG while joining Ige in opposing what Hawaii Gas wants to do. “The capital plans of those wishing to import LNG are anything but small”. It’s a fossil fuel, but cheap, and very clean, which is why it’s popular for transit buses nationwide. “LNG is imported”.
If Hawaii is able to achieve this goal and set standards, this could pave the way for enhanced renewable energy production in the Continental United States.
“We agree with Gov. Ige that any use of LNG should not result in development of major costly infrastructure that will impede our renewable energy progress”, said HECO spokesman Darren Pai.
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Initially, the state’s renewable energy mandate envisaged sourcing as much as 70% of its electricity from renewables in 2040. But discussion can only go so far-only an attempted execution (whether successful or not) can truly prove whether renewable energy can sustain a state entirely.
