Hawaii Energy
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Summary Notes
HEPF General Membership Meeting
May 9, 2008
Hawaii State Capitol Rm #325
In Attendance:
Members: Amy Asselbaye, Mark Glick, Mike Hamnett, Peter Rosegg, Jeff Mikulina, Sharon Miyashiro, Carl Freedman, Glenn Sato, Larry Lau, Madeleine Austin, Rep. Hermina Morita, Rick Rocheleau, Riley Saito, Lance Tanaka, Mike Kitamura, Mitch Ewan, Steve Meder.
Guests: David Leonard, Bill Parks, Jessica Horiuchi, Alan Lennard, Bob Shleser, Makena Coffman, Maria Tome, Ted Peck, Phyllis Robinson, Melanie Stephens, Henry Curtis, Kat Brady, Julie Rogers, Scott Turn.
Staff: Susan Char, Chelsea Phlegar, Kim Suman.
Legislative Update (Mike Kitamura from Sen. Akaka’s office):
No specific information at this time, but debate on various energy bills is expected until Memorial Day. Mike will notify Sharon of updates to share with the Forum.
Legislative Update (Rep. Hermina Morita):
Funding was very limited this session, with very few appropriation bills approved. HB 2003 and the Forum and energy efficient transportation study did not pass. HB 3444, which called for an increase in the environmental response tax in order to fund DBEDT programs, was not funded as the Legislature did not want to increase However, it did establish the Energy Security Revolving Fund. Bills that passed are: (1) HB 2505, which allows for a temporary full-time facilitator for renewable energy projects at DBEDT, and (2) HB 2507, which funds two temporary positions (GHG) at DBEDT, (3) SB 644, which mandates solar water heaters for new homes permitted after 1/1/2010;at that time, the tax credit on new home construction will be eliminated (If there is a variance request, DBEDT will handle), (4) SB 988, which authorizes PUC to establish a rate-funded rebate for certain projects, and (5) get the bill no. here SB 2933, which prohibits community associations from banning clotheslines. The governor signed HB 2502 which includes solar energy facilities as a permitted use on type D and E agricultural lands. It also provides for a coordinated process for renewable energy facility citing for facilities generating over 200 MW.
It will be critically important to get bipartisan support next year to revisit the barrel tax. Otherwise, we are competing against all other state efforts in obtaining funding for energy programs. There is need for support by the Administration as well as the governor. The governor released funds for the GHG task force only a couple weeks ago. The Legislature last year approved the appropriation, but the governor has the discretion on whether or not to release funds even if they are already approved by the legislature.
Legislative Update (Ted Peck, DBEDT):
Ted Peck provided an update on bills, which passed this session. See the presentation handout, which is attached.
Legislative Update (Maria Tome, DBEDT):
Update on Bioenergy Master Plan – The World Water Congress is convening next week so we may be able to engage some of the participants in our water issues. A kickoff meeting of the Bioenergy Master Plan will be convened on Oahu on May 21. The sessions will look at integrated systems that take into account the island topography as well as consider food related to bioenergy crops. Following the kick-off meeting, DBEDT plans to convene a follow-up meeting in September in conjunction with an ag conference.
HCEI Update (Bill Parks, DOE):
DBEDT/USDOE are working on an outreach plan to broaden the discussion of the issues. The first meeting was in March. The next meeting is scheduled for June and will be followed by a later one in September. Regulatory training was hosted in April; and a follow-up meeting with the PUC is planned for July at NREL.
The HCEI is looking at renewable energy penetration on Lanai, military housing, public/private partnerships and groundbreaking on a 9MW solar project in June. A Maui grid project ($15MM) will look at renewable energy penetration on the grid and better management of the grid. Further, the NREL wind program can get data from the Maui wind projects.
HCEI is working to support Maria on bioenergy efforts and master planning. We are continuing to work with some of the counties (Maui for example) whose mayor announced a goal to become carbon neutral by 2020. In August, a Kauai energy conference is planned.
HCEI is a multi-year commitment of the federal government and state that is expected to be iterative and continue after the first round. The focus is starting with electricity first because it is easier. We are not ignoring ground transportation and jet fuel. Oil price fluctuations are to be expected in the modeling and analysis. The four working groups (energy efficiency, renewable generation, energy delivery and transportation/biofuels) have all had one meeting to frame the most important issues and discuss/establish priorities. Knowing what the framework is for each working group would be helpful to the Forum in order to integrate effectively w/ HCEI. Maria Tome is co-chair of the HCEI transportation working group and is also working with the energy efficient transportation working group formed by the Forum. The HCEI website will be up and running by the end of May or early June.
GHG Task Force Update (Larry Lau, DOH):
See the written task force notes, which contain the April analysis. This analysis is scheduled to be discussed at the next task force meeting on Thursday, 6/5 at 3 pm. During the March meeting, it was decided regardless of a federal exemption, our committee would continue working diligently. In May it was decided to hold a public meeting in late September/early October as required. The next outreach meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 6/13 at 1 pm at 919 Ala Moana Blvd. (DOH offices).
Regarding the Climate Registry, there are 233 reporters as of May 1st. UH is the first Hawaii reporter and the first university in the country to sign on as a reporter. The registry has finalized reporting and verification protocols. They will be consistent with ANSI, ISO, etc. standards. In July, an automated information system will begin.
Another major area of work is industry specific protocols. EPA has the statutory duty to come up with reporting rules for all sectors of the economy by 2009, which is a very ambitious timetable. However, the emission thresholds and reporting frequency will be flexible.
Working Group Updates: The 10 Point Action Plan is our guide as it establishes benchmarks to measure achievement of our goals. The forum funding through the legislature was not approved this session; therefore, we are considering alternatives for an ongoing stable approach.
Renewable Energy (Warren Bollmeier/Rick Reed) – A written update was provided. One major item over the next year is refundable tax credits for certain renewable technologies and zero net energy homes.
Communication/Outreach (Peter Rosegg/Mitch Ewan) – There were a number of briefings over the last year which we hope to continue. The video “Hawaii’s Climate Crisis” was completed and aired. We received a lot of positive comments and distributed a large number of DVDs of the video to schools and other organizations. There is about the lack of funding because we had plans to spend it to continue our outreach efforts.
Regulatory Reform (Carl Freedman) – A study on the laws of Hawaii and whether or not they are impacting the state’s efforts to become energy self-sufficient was commissioned. The study was finalized and handed out at the start of the legislative session. No specific recommendations were made in the study but recommendations could be the follow-up effort during the next session.
We need to provide budgeting for the second half of the PUC reorganization in the next session. There are still staffing needs for PUC/DCA that are pending. The agencies are having trouble hiring due to salaries but they are getting more support than ever before. Support for DBEDT, as far as resources versus workload, will be studied by the Forum.
As part of the HCEI, there was a recent training session and workshop sponsored by the PUC. As a result of the meeting, an incentive alignment docket is being opened due to the commission becoming engaged in the discussion. It was determined that “business as usual” will not work and the commission has taken an active policy role to move things forward.
Lastly, we might want to consider what would be desired in a wheeling docket.
Energy Efficiency (Steve Meder/Darren Kimura) – See hard copy of Steve’s ppt presentation.
In addition, there are approximately 200 buildings coming up for recommissioning by DAGs.
Hydrocarbon Futures (Steve Golden/Lance Tanaka) – The overarching goal is to have security and reliability in our energy supply. To that end, the Hawaii Harbors Modernization Plan (for all fuels) is currently in progress. In addition, DBEDT is currently working on a fuel strategy. The Hawaii Harbors Working Group also came up with a list of needed projects totaling almost $1 billion (Lance and Steve are members of this group).
Cultural/Social (Mark Glick/Paula Helfrich) - It was recommended that the Forum become more active in forming strategic alliances so OHA is reaching out to Kamehameha Schools and DHHL to look at not just power generation, but also ag uses.
Specific sites that are sacred need to be identified in a consensual framework to prevent citing of facilities too close.
OHA is working on a process to incorporate GIS data in a very robust modeling capability that can be transmitted electronically (much like Google Earth) by moving a cursor over areas, specific info pops up and could include cultural sites and information. Similar information is widely available now but is not coordinated in one location and easily retrieved. This project should start during the summer. Visuals of the info will be available by the fall to the public.
The native Hawaiian portal can be found at pacific network.tv. It provides accurate clear info of what is going on in the Hawaiian community. There will be a presentation on this coming up. This effort will also help with outreach goals. We are still planning to identify burdened communities and also identify and chart locations for energy production on native Hawaiian lands.
GHG (Mike Hamnett/Carl Freedman) – The working group has been tracking the activities and work of the GHG emissions task force and taking a “wait and see” approach to see what is coming out of the university.. Initial results on GHG inventory work for UH are expected by the end of June. In addition, HB 2507 was actively supported by the working group this session.
Announcements:
We have formed a speaker’s committee to help select speakers and bring up important issues to educate the community. Guidelines/criteria for speaker selection have been drafted.
We are also looking at a report to the community on 8/26 (coincides with the next Forum meeting on that date).
Lastly, the Forum annual survey is online. Responses are anonymous. The deadline has been extended until 5/16. Working group chairs will meet next month and discuss survey results.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at noon. Lunch followed.
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