Let natural gas make its case

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 23, 2012

~~<p>Initial interest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) — the utility HAWAI‘IGAS proposes to phase in imports — has intensified recently with indications that Alaska wants to ship LNG to the Hawaii market. This is a development that both raises substantive questions about costs and dangles the tantalizing potential of benefits to Hawaii consumers.</p>
<p>That benefit would be that adding natural gas to the state's energy portfolio would displace at least some of the stock of oil, which burns dirtier and is more expensive than LNG. And consumers in Hawaii, where energy prices are the highest nationally, are weary of mounting electricity bills and hungry for any glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.</p>
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Initial interest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) — the utility HAWAI‘IGAS proposes to phase in imports — has intensified recently with indications that Alaska wants to ship LNG to the Hawaii market. This is a development that both raises substantive questions about costs and dangles the tantalizing potential of benefits to Hawaii consumers.

That benefit would be that adding natural gas to the state's energy portfolio would displace at least some of the stock of oil, which burns dirtier and is more expensive than LNG. And consumers in Hawaii, where energy prices are the highest nationally, are weary of mounting electricity bills and hungry for any glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Login for more...