Hawaii
Energy Policy Forum > 2003
Articles
Solar bonds for Hawai'i promoted
By Jan TenBruggencate
Honolulu Advertiser
October 21, 2002
A group of solar-energy advocates has been making the rounds
in
Hawai'i, talking up the concept of the government issuing
a solar
bond.
That's a bond used to install solar photovoltaic panels
and
energy-efficiency modifications in government buildings.
The resulting savings in electricity costs would pay off
the bond
without cost to taxpayers. San Francisco already has issued
such a
bond and is making building improvements with it.
The benefits in the San Francisco project are clear, said
David
Hochschild of the Vote Solar Initiative.
"
San Francisco is now installing its first solar project since
the
$100 million bond passed last year. The project is a 688-kw
solar
array on the roof of the Moscone Center and is coupled with
a major
energy-efficiency upgrade. Together, the solar and energy
efficiency
will reduce electricity consumption by 38 percent," he
said.
For more information on the organization and its mission,
see
www.votesolar.org.
Representatives of Vote Solar and Power
Shift, two nonprofit
organizations supporting solar power and energy efficiency,
say sunny
Hawai'i can benefit more from solar power than any other
state.
They said they received a warm reception from members of
the state
Legislature, and gubernatorial candidates Democrat Mazie
Hirono and
Republican Linda Lingle say they are strong supporters of
solar and
other forms of alternative-energy production.
"
Hawai'i has a chance to do something significant in the fight
against global warming. A solar bond would help the state
generate
its own power, cleanly and cost-effectively. This would lessen
Hawai'i's reliance on overseas oil imports while cleaning
the air,"
Hochschild said.
The long-term goal of supporters of these
projects is to make solar
power more and more reasonable in price.
Followers of solar
energy note that the more of it that gets
installed, the cheaper the cost of the solar panels.
"
Every time cumulative demand for (photovoltaic gear) doubles,
the
price goes down by about 20 percent. (Photovoltaic energy
system
cost) was $100 a watt in 1976. Today it's about $3 a watt," he
said.
Hochschild said his group is arguing for a proposal in Honolulu
that
would call for the purchase of solar panels capable of producing
40
megawatts.
A report by Power Shift said that would save more
than 100,000 pounds
of carbon dioxide and more than 400,000 pounds each of
sulfur dioxide
and nitrogen oxides in the first year, when compared with
traditional
power generation.
Jan TenBruggencate is The Advertiser's Kaua'i
bureau chief and its
science and environment writer. Reach him at (808) 245-3074
or
jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.
(c) COPYRIGHT 2002 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division
of Gannett Co. Inc.
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