Nonprofit says Hawaii needs jumpstart to meet renewable energy goals

When it comes to reaching its renewable energy goals, the state still has a long way to go, according to the Blue Planet Foundation.

Hawaii received an overall grade of C in Blue Planet’s 2019 Energy Report Card.

The report card, released on Tuesday, evaluates the state in key categories including transportation, energy efficiency, renewables and economics. Blue Planet, a Honolulu-based nonprofit, noted that Hawaii’s total fossil fuel consumption overall has not meaningfully decreased.

“We have more work to do,” said Melissa Miyashiro, Blue Planet’s managing director for strategy and policy. “It doesn’t mean what we’re doing isn’t working. It just means looking at this point in time, there are some areas where we’ve stalled.”

The C is down from the last report in 2017, when the state got a B minus.

According to Miyashiro, the report card offers a point-in-time snapshot by analyzing data from publicly available federal, state and county reports, as well as news stories.

“Most of the data in the report card is looking at progress through 2018, so what’s not reflected are the projects that are in the pipeline and some policies that are still in the works,” Miya­shiro said.

For renewables, the report gives the state a C plus, noting that total renewable generation in 2018 dipped slightly mostly due to the closure of the Puna Geothermal Venture on Hawaii island following the Kilauea eruption.

If the state wants to reach its goal of 100% renewables by 2045, it will need to replace fossil fuel power plants faster. Blue Planet noted that 78% of the state’s electricity is still produced by aging, fossil fuel plants.

The report also noted the rate of growth in solar PV installations slowed dramatically. In addition, the foundation has long taken issue with the values used in the state’s formula to calculate its renewable portfolio.

Instead of dividing renewable energy by electrical energy sales, which includes fossil fuels, the foundation says the state should use the amount of electrical energy generated instead. Otherwise, the calculation ends up inflating the reported percentage of renewable energy. Blue Planet says in 2018 there was a 5.7% discrepancy.

“It hasn’t been too much of an issue in the early stages of renewable transition,” said Miyashiro. “But there’s a growing discrepancy. This is making sure when we say we’re 100% renewable, we mean 100% renewable.”

The formula requires a simple legislative fix, she said, and the foundation will advocate for one again this legislative session. It will also push for a bill mandating rooftop solar on new residential construction projects.

For energy efficiency, the state received a B plus, down from an A minus, due to a loophole allowing single-family homes to request variances and to install fossil-fuel gas heaters instead.

By island, Kauai is in the lead, according to the report. The Garden Isle is on track to produce 82% of its electricity from renewables by 2025. The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative is also the nation’s top utility for energy storage watts per customer.

In transportation, which accounts for almost two-thirds of fossil fuel consumption, Hawaii received a D because data showed an increase in sales of larger, less efficient vehicles, as well as an increase in vehicle miles traveled, and a decrease in public bus ridership.

On the other hand, two categories — smart grid and economics — showed slight improvements. A smart grid refers to, among other things, digital technology that allows the power supply to respond quickly to demand, reducing waste and cost.

The smart grid grade improved from D to D plus due to the incorporation of tools like demand response and energy storage, while the economics category got a small boost from C plus to B minus due to more competitive prices for battery storage and electric vehicles.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the grade,” said Miyashiro. “What this underscores, for me, is that the journey to 100% isn’t something you set, and you forget. It really is checking in on how we’re doing along the way, an evaluation of what the data is telling us about our progress.”