HECO Hikes Solar Charges: In an April 14 filing with the Public Utilities Commission, Hawaiian Electric announced it would be charging an as-yet undetermined fee to all 1,100 homeowners still awaiting approval of their net-energy-metering (NEM) applications. The company claims … Continued
Is the `Aina Le`a project about to start up again? That development, on about 3,000 acres of land mauka of the Mauna Lani resort in the Kohala district of the Big Island, has been on the books for nearly three … Continued
In 1991, the state Land Use Commission approved a boundary amendment petition that set the stage for development of luxury resorts on Lana`i. One of the conditions – Condition 10 – that it attached to the approval stated that the … Continued
When it comes to discussions of climate change, much of the debate is focused on that small part of the globe that is – for now, at least – dry land: the impact on cities on or near coastlines; dealing … Continued
Following Gov. David Ige’s state of the state address, in which he proposed us- ing nearly two-thirds of the Green Energy Market Securitization funds to air condition 1,000 public-school classrooms, both cham- bers of the Legislature heard companion bills that … Continued
The roll-out of the Green Energy Market Securitization program (GEMS) has had results that can charitably be described as disappointing. Of the $145 million available for loans intended to help Hawai`i homeowners and renters avail themselves of advances in energy-saving … Continued
Kathryn Matayoshi, state superintendent of education, had little to say about the proposal to loan the Department of Education $100 million from the Green Energy Market Securitization (GEMS) fund when the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection heard the … Continued
Rep. Cynthia Thielen of Kailua was frank: “I think that GEMS has not been run well. A million dollars to place out three loans is pretty pathetic. I mean, that may rank at the top of the pathetic list of … Continued
Although the merger of Hawaiian Electric with NextEra Energy has yet to be approved by the Public Utilities Commission, it would seem from a recent filing with the PUC that the prospective new owner of Hawai`i’s largest utility is already … Continued
A feud between Hawaiian Electric and SunEdison could put in jeopardy three of the four large-scale solar power projects approved for O`ahu last year. On February 12, Hawaiian Electric informed the Public Utilities Commission that it “exercised its termination rights” … Continued