Petroleum supplier wants to deliver clean energy

Par Hawaii Inc.’s top executive said the petroleum supplier will adjust to a switch away from oil in keeping with the state’s goal to eliminate fossil fuel use.

Jim Yates, president of Par Hawaii, said last week that Par Hawaii — owner of 128 gas stations and a 94,000-barrel refinery in Kapolei — will adjust with the state to get to Hawaii’s 100 percent renewable goal for power generation by 2045.

“A good sailor does not yell at the wind about which way it is blowing or argue about it; he adjusts his sails,” Yates said. “That’s sort of what we’re about. We’re not going to be in a position of arguing where the state wants to go with its energy policy. We’re going to adjust our sails so we can be a relevant player in delivering that energy.

“While we are by far a primarily fossil fuel-based company,” Yates continued, “we’re not a fully integrated company like a Chevron. We don’t own oil in the ground. We have a small bit of natural gas production on the mainland, but we are not an oil producer. … We are an energy provider, so the idea of transition from petroleum to biofuels or whatever is something we can adjust to, and we’re not opposed to it.”

Shem Lawlor, clean-transportation director at the Blue Planet Foundation, said the organization applauds Par Hawaii for committing to be part of Hawaii’s transition to fossil fuel-free transportation.

“We look forward to working with all energy providers, including Par Hawaii, to help make this critical transition happen,” Lawlor said. “The future of transportation in Hawaii will include more options for getting around and will be connected, shared and fossil fuel-free.”

One goal of the state’s clean-energy initiative, laid out in 2011, is to displace 70 percent of petroleum-based ground transportation fuels by 2030.

Adding to the state’s goal of achieving 100 percent renewable energy for power generation by 2045, Hawaii lawmakers introduced a bill last session that proposed to eliminate the use of fossil fuels for energy, including transportation. The bill didn’t make it out of the session.

Electric power consumes roughly 30 percent of all of the state’s total petroleum use, so lowering transportation fuel consumption is key to bringing down total fossil fuel use.

Yates said Par Hawaii will continue to play a critical role in keeping Hawaii moving as the state works for its different clean-energy goals.

“If the state designed an energy future that looks like ‘X’ here in 2045, part of our job is literally to get us there. … You can’t flip a switch and go from where we are today to where the state is trying to get,” he said. “What we know for certain, for the present: The vast majority of the demand of transportation fuels — whether it be land, sea or air — are petroleum-based products, so we have an obligation to make those products that are needed today.”

The transportation sector in Hawaii uses approximately 60 percent of all petroleum in the state, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Jet fuel accounts for about 40 percent of transportation fuel consumed in the state, and motor gasoline accounts for another 40 percent.

Because of military installations and commercial airline demand, jet fuel makes up a larger portion of total petroleum use in Hawaii than in any other state except Alaska, according to the EIA.

Roughly half of the fuel products Par Hawaii makes are jet fuel and diesel; a quarter is gasoline; and a quarter is for utilities and marine transportation.

Yates said the company is already lowering the amount of diesel fuel oil it produces and sells to the state’s electrical utilities.

“That, over time, will go away,” Yates said. “It has already lessened.”

Liquefied natural gas is one fuel resource Hawaiian Electric Co. has said it plans to use as a bridge fuel for the state to get away from petroleum and closer to its goal of 100 percent renewable resource use for power generation.

The use of LNG was included in the electrical utility’s 30-year power plans; however, the utility recently withdrew its application to use LNG after state regulators rejected its sale to Florida-based energy giant NextEra Energy Inc.

When asked about using LNG in Hawaii, Yates said the company would be open to the idea.

“I wouldn’t rule anything out, not suggesting that we are, but we are open to what the needs of the state are in the future and how we can evolve to meet those.”