Abercrombie enacts undersea cable law

Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed a bill into law Wednesday that lays the foundation for a proposed undersea cable that could transmit to Oahu renewable energy generated on neighbor islands.

Abercrombie, noting that there is opposition to the cable, said the project would be "thoroughly vetted" before any construction begins.

The governor’s signing of SB2785, now known as Act 165, establishes a regulatory framework for the cable project to move from concept to development.

Hawaiian Electric Co. has begun the process to select a company or companies to develop both the cable and 200 megawatts of renewable energy that would be fed into the Oahu grid from neighbor islands.

"This does not mean there is a cable tomorrow. What it does is gives us a means to make an informed and thoughtful long-term implication decision about the cable," Abercrombie said at a signing ceremony.

Any proposals for a cable project "will obviously need more legislative consideration and administrative consideration," he said.

The plan to link the Oahu grid with an undersea cable has generated a fair amount of community opposition, particularly on Lanai and Molokai.

The community groups also are against proposals to build wind energy projects on Lanai and Molokai that, if constructed, would be connected to Oahu via the cable.

Opponents say the damage that proposed wind farms on Lanai and Molokai could do to those islands’ natural beauty and cultural sites outweighs the benefits they might have in helping the state reach energy self-sufficiency.

Others have been critical of the bill because it would allow HECO to charge consumers to recover the costs of the estimated $1 billion cable project.

Abercrombie also signed into law a companion measure that authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to develop and enforce reliability standards for companies that sell renewable energy to Hawaii’s two electrical utilities, HECO and Kauai Island Utility Cooperative.

There are no clear rules for renewable energy producers that want to hook into the grids of the utilities. That has been identified as a roadblock for big and small renewable energy projects.

By giving the PUC authority to adopt clear, enforceable standards, Hawaii will be better equipped to meet its renewable energy goals, the governor said.

"These measures are critical in addressing our sustainability. We must view our islands as interdependent and remain open to all renewable projects," he said. "My administration is seeking long-term infrastructure investments that ensure our electric grids are stable, reliable and modern enough to integrate all available alternative and renewable energy technologies," he said.