Hawaii Makes Plans to Work 100% on Renewables

Hawaii has set a goal to be powered 100% on renewable energy by 2040. Regulators have been pushing for this for some time, but Hawaiian Electric’s Power Supply Improvement Plan (PSIP) has recently been approved by the Public Utilities Commission.

Since Hawaii is so remote, it makes sense that it would want to push towards renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, not only for environmental reasons, but also in order to be more self-sufficient and avoid the high costs of importing fossil fuels.

On top of that, Hawaii has always been the U.S leader in solar energy, which makes sense considering the abundant sunlight that its islands get.

The next five years of this plan are key, as Hawaii plans to go from renewable energy powering 25% of the grid supply to 52%. Energy storage will also play a big role in this transition as 165,000 energy storage systems are to be built by 2030. These will provide back up both for the private home but also for the grid as a whole. Additionally, grid improvements will be necessary on each island.

Although many other states are working towards relying more and more and renewable energy, Hawaii is the first state to make a real plan to go 100% renewables in the near future. If the state successfully reaches 50% renewables within the next five years, then it will set the perfect example for other states to follow, and will also be on track to achieve its plan.

References: https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/22/hawaiis-push-to-100-renewable-energy-presents-oppo.aspx

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/hawaiian-electric-100-renewable-energy-plan-green-light