Kauai Island Utility Cooperative said Friday it has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent in the past five years.
KIUC said it is on a path to generate at least 50 percent of its electricity by using solar, biomass and hydroelectric resources, in a press release outlining its Earth Day progress. On Kauai 38 percent of power generation comes from solar, biomass and hydro, with oil accounting for the rest.
The use of renewables in 2016 will reduce the carbon dioxide released by KIUC’s power plants to 225,000 tons. The plants released 266,000 tons in 2015.
“This is great news on Earth Day,” said Marti Townsend, director of the Sierra Club Hawaii. “This goes to show what can be accomplished with a community-owned utility that is focused on meeting the needs of its member-owners and not on squeezing profits from an antiquated business model.”
Hawaiian Electric Co. said the utility has achieved a 16 percent reduction in emissions — across all three electrical utilities on Maui, Oahu and Hawaii island — from the 2010 base-line level. About 23.2 percent of HECO’s power generation comes from renewables.
– Kathryn Mykleseth, kmykleseth@staradvertiser.com
ON THE MOVE
HomeStreet Bank has hired the following employees:
>> Marysol Ruiz was hired as a loan officer at the bank’s Honolulu Home Loan Center. She has five years of mortgage industry experience, including previously serving as a sole proprietor and owner of a small business.
>> Lee H. Taylor was hired as a loan officer at the bank’s Kahului Home Loan Center. Taylor was most recently a customer/guest service manager at a local resort.
Greg Jackson has been appointed as the account manager of Xerox Hawaii. Jackson has more than 15 years’ experience in information technology and systems analysis, including working for Hawaii Pacific Health, Wahiawa General Hospital, PDC Systems and Cox Communications.
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Star-Advertiser staff
