HECO plans to hit energy goal early

Hawaiian Electric Co. said Friday that it expects 42 percent of homes, or 165,000 properties, in its service area will have solar systems by 2030 and that the utility will reach the state’s goal of 100 percent renewable energy five years ahead of schedule.

Those predictions were included in the fourth version of HECO’s plan for meeting the state’s energy goal of getting 100 percent of its electric power from renewable sources by 2045. Key elements include adding utility-scale solar, customer-sited batteries, rooftop solar, wind and biofuels.

The plan was submitted to the state Public Utilities Commission for approval. The PUC sent HECO back to the drawing board for three previous drafts.

The utility lumped its three territories together — Oahu, Maui County and Hawaii island — to provide the renewable-energy portfolio.

By 2020, HECO said, renewables would make up 48 percent of the power mix — with more than 15 percent of that coming from customer-sited renewables.

In the next five years, HECO said, it plans to add 360 megawatts of utility-scale solar, 157 megawatts of utility-scale wind and 115 megawatts from demand-response programs, which encourage customers to use electricity when more renewable energy is on the grid.

HECO said Molokai would reach 100 percent renewable energy by 2020.

That year the Big Island is expected to hit 80 percent renewable, Maui 63 percent, Lanai 59 percent and Oahu 40 percent.

HECO’s portfolio will be 72 percent renewable by the end of 2030, according to the plan. The law calls for 40 percent in 2030.

The electrical utility said it plans to get to 100 percent by the end of 2040, when the law requires 70 percent.

HECO expects private solar systems to more than double by 2030. Currently, there are 79,000 solar systems across HECO’s territories.

The PUC has raised concerns about earlier plans submitted by HECO, pointing to problems with “transparency, objectivity, and credibility of the analysis.”

HECO can still move forward with renewable-energy adoption outside of the PUC’s review of its plan.

The utility currently has a $340 million plan before the PUC to build a smart grid.

“We have a solid plan that accelerates our progress to get to 100 percent renewable energy. We can do this,” said Alan Oshima, president of HECO, in a prepared statement.

One missing component to HECO’s plan was the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a bridge fuel — a resource the electrical utility included in its previous plans.

In HECO’s previous plans submitted in April, the utility said it needed the financial backing of NextEra Energy Inc. to make use of LNG.

NextEra’s plan to buy HECO’s parent company was rejected by the PUC in July.

If the PUC hadn’t denied NextEra’s purchase of HEI, the companies would have entered into an agreement to acquire LNG from the Fortis LNG facility in Vancouver, British Columbia.

An earlier plan to use an interisland cable to share power among islands was also not included in HECO’s new plan. But HECO said “its costs and benefits should continue to be evaluated.”

The PUC allowed 23 parties to participate in discussions on the new plan. Those groups, including clean-energy nonprofits and solar companies, will have the opportunity to file questions about the update.

HECO and the groups then submit their positions on the plan to the state.