Hawaiian Electric withdraws request for approval of LNG contract
STAR-ADVERTISER
The state’s electric utility said it canceled a contract for the use of liquefied natural gas for power generation due to the termination of the proposed merger with NextEra Energy Inc.
Hawaiian Electric Co. said today that it withdrew its application to use liquefied natural gas for power generation.
The state’s electric utility said it canceled the contract due to the termination of the proposed merger with NextEra Energy Inc. State regulators last week rejected Florida-based NextEra’s $4.3 billion purchase of Hawaiian Electric Industries, the parent company of Hawaiian Electric Co., Maui Electric and Hawaii Electric Light Co. Following the PUC decision, NextEra walked away from HEI on Monday.
The electric utility had said NextEra’s financial backing was required in order to bring in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and make the necessary upgrades to power plants.
“Because of the resources these specific combined projects required, one condition of the LNG contract was approval of the proposed merger with NextEra Energy,” HECO said in a press release.
The LNG application included the utility’s contract with Fortis Hawaii Energy Inc, plans to upgrade Kahe Power Plant to use natural gas, and a waiver from competitive bidding to upgrade the plant.
29 responses to “Hawaiian Electric withdraws request for approval of LNG contract”
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Unfortunately, oil prices may go up. And these oil plants are old and may need to be replaced.
Once again, Hawaii residents get the short end of the stick. HECO shareholders will continue to enjoy profit. NextEra moves on to look for opportunities elsewhere. Environmentalists get another “win” for their side while simultaneously screwing locally residents once more. The big myth here that local people (people everywhere) do not understand is that there is such a thing as 100% renewable energy. There are ample examples all over Europe where citizens of a city THOUGHT they would get a better, more efficient, cheaper way to generate electricity from wind, solar, and/or anything else. Wrong. There will always need to be a form of backup power. From conventional power generation methods. THAT is where LNG comes in. Not just as a ‘bridge fuel’ but a long term method of creating power by burning a cleaner fuel in lieu of oil. But that doesn’t fit the narrative and agenda of Blue Planet, Sierra Club, and other environmentalists. They are lying to anyone who will listen. And your Governor Ige has the biggest ears. Local people better wake up. Utility bills will get higher. Sewer bills will continue through the roof, thanks to Mufi signing on to the agreement where the EPA forced the city to pay big bucks to fix sewers. WE locals are paying for that. Now, our energy bills will skyrocket. Hey, here’s a question. How do we get to 100% renewables in the future when HECO is already pulling the plug on solar panels today!?!? Its a big lie. And this decision by the PUC, Ige and the environmentalists support, has paved the way to make Hawaiians go to the poor house faster than ever before. Just as residents in Europe already are. America hasn’t learned a thing from their experience.
You are right.
Ige doesn’t get it. Has Ige decided what his position is on the TMT?
>>> and a waiver from competitive bidding to upgrade the plant
And you know something fishy was up with that.
Congratulations to Donald J Trump. Make America Great Again.
Now HECO can get back to the business of converting to clean energy and rooftop solar (or, for that company, the obstruction of rooftop solar).
Congratulations to Donald J.Trump. Make America Great Again.
Yep, and you see those delegates from “coal” mining states who want Trump as president because they think that Trump won’t dump, coal.
Waiving their support coal signs.
It was a bad plan to begin with , ISO containers, come on now.
HawaiiGas plan can actually deliver real savings to consumers instead of oil until we fully get to 100% renewables. Bulk delivery makes much more sense than ISO containers and the gas is from conventional gas sources, not fracked gas.
ISO containers were a temporary and relatively fast means of getting LNG here without a lot of infrastructure work. Yes, bulk makes more sense and is easier and far cheaper. But the method by ISO was a start and would prove the concept.
Not sure about the complications of this but I thought the LNG was best simply from the source which was BC and that gets the 40% Jones Act tariff out of the equation.
BC has no world-scale LNG plants in operation, not even ones that could supply the tiny Hawaii market. Australia has an enormous amount of LNG capacity under construction, and no Jones Act issues. With the US expected to be the worlds 3rd largest LNG exporter by 2020, the global market is and will be flush with LNG for the next 10 years or so. Best time to sign a long term deal is over the next couple of years. Of course Jones Act precludes HI from importing LNG from US (there are only a couple of Jones Act flagged LNG carriers, we haven’t built any since the early 1980s)but the US volumes alone are displacing a lot of foreign sourced capacity that can come to Hawaii at prices 25-35% below that of dirtier Low Sulfur Fuel Oil or Diesel.
HG is importing LNG via ISOs now for backup supply. Makes sense on a small scale, but do do 800ktpa via ISOs is ludicrous and is done nowhere else in the world.
What Ige is doing is done nowhere else.
HECO and HawaiiGas should have worked together to develop a means of getting the gas to Hawaii.
There is plenty of gas on the Nei to power HECO’s plants for decades. Just run gas feeder line from Honolulu Hale, Governor’s office, UH Management bureaucrat’s office, every city and state government office.
Nei would be self sufficient on renewable energy forever.
It might just blow up in one giant fart fireball.
They tried, HECO didn’t want to play ball.
Fine, someone else will do the LNG. Please don’t create obstacles. That goes for the Governor too who is opposing based on faulty reasoning.
A bunch, not a whole lot of paid-talking heads for LNC. Solar+batteries=$$$saved=getting off of grid. That’s what the electric companies want to prevent, you are their cash cows.
Ooops!, LNG
Look at Japan and Korea, the world’s two largest LNG importers. You don’t think they want to go 100% renewables as they import over 95% of their total energy needs? You dont think if they had the technology they would do it? Or maybe Hawaii is so much more innovative, cause we can do it with the “Aloha Spirit”? Show me somewhere that is doing solar + batteries for 1M people please.
Why look at international prospects??
Look at successes right here in the USA.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/solar-energy-positioned-to-boom-in-florida/2136868
artcle in, The Tampa Bay Times, July 20, 2016
All you got to do, is look, but you are after all probably a talking head for oil/LNG.
Also;
http://www.seattle.gov/light/solarenergy/commsolar.asp
energy.gov/eere/solarpoweringamerica/national-community-solar-partnership
https://www.communitygreenenergy.com
Ige has got the right foresight.
News flash, when the sun doesn’t shine or wind doesn’t blow you need a firm power source. In Florida that is natural gas, coal and nuclear and imported electricity. https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.cfm?sid=FL In WA State they use massive amount of hydroelectricity for firm power, ya know cause its rains a lot there. And they also use nat gas and nuclear. http://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=WA#tabs-4 But hey the facts don’t matter do they.
Can you tell me how even a small state the size of HI will get to 100% renewbales in the next 30 yrs? Not even the so called experts can, go ahead ask them.
I’m not a proponent of wind; that being said, rain, clouds, etc., energy from the sun radiates right on through, maybe not as strong as a clear day. Thus solar energy is still absorbed by solar panels.
However I see your point of standby fuels for emergency needs.
And you see HECO news this morning, they anticipating raising rates because they claiming, rising fuels costs? I say their doing it because they pissed-off being turned down by the PUC for being bought by that Nextwhatevers.