This detailed report outlines the issues around the current energy and fuel usages and productions, and presents alternatives in the second half. Very informative! Great reference for the PEIS meetings!
Click here for PDF of Life Of the Land PEIS
Excerpts:
PART II: FOSSIL FUEL IMPACTS
Hawai`i Fossil Fuel Impacts
Hawai`i’s Top 3 Dioxin Emitters are all power plants: (1) AES Coal
Plant; (2) HECO’s Kahe Generation Station; and (3) HECO’s Waiau
Generating Station.
Hawai`i’s Top 10 chemical polluters are six electricity generation
stations, two refineries and two military bases: (1) HECO’s Kahe
Generation Station; (2) Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam; (3) Chevron
Refinery: Kapolei; (4) HECO’s Waiau Generating Station; (5) MECO’s
Kahului Generating Station; (6) HELCO’s Hill Generating Station: Hilo;
(7) AES Hawaii: Kapolei; (8) Tesoro Refinery: Kapolei; (9) US Army
Pohakuloa Training Area-Range Facility; and (10) MECO’s Maalaea
Generating Station.
PART III: THE CURRENT ELECTRICITY QUAGMIRE
Mayes introduced the concept of “cascading natural deregulation.” As
the cost of renewable systems trends downward and electric rates go
up, those who can leave the grid, will leave the grid.
The fixed costs associated with energy production, transmission, and
distribution will then have to be absorbed by the remaining (smaller)
rate base still on the grid.
Those who remain on the grid will then see their rates go up even
more, which in turn provides ever stronger incentives for more people
to opt out of a centralized grid, driving ever higher the rates for the
diminishing number of ratepayers who remain.
PART IV: WHAT IF …?
What if Options: Alternative Plans
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) oversees the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). CEQ requires that reasonable
alternatives MUST BE evaluated in Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) if they are technically and economically possible and based on
common sense.
Life of the Land believes that this EIS offers the opportunities to lay
out alternating future scenarios for evaluation. There is an absolute
need for the PEIS to present a balanced estimation of the positive and
negative consequences of different, reasonable alternatives.
There are a number of game changers that are being discussed in
utility circles, including Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC),
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Wave Energy Conversion Systems
(WECs), Algal Biodiesel, Storage, DC Grids and Self-Generation.
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