HONOLULU — Hawaiian Electric Co. is still committed to achieving 100 percent renewable-energy dependence no matter what federal policies are, the utility’s CEO said.
HONOLULU — Hawaiian Electric Co. is still committed to achieving 100 percent renewable-energy dependence no matter what federal policies are, the utility’s CEO said.
HECO is fully committed to clean energy with or without helpful federal policies in place, President and CEO Alan Oshima told The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. He said it is the right thing to do for Hawaii and for the Earth.
Oshima said it is still too early to know how the presidency of Donald Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax” and wants to reverse many of President Barack Obama’s climate policies, will affect the energy industry. But he said the utility’s board of directors is trying to find out.
“We don’t have our heads in the sand,” Oshima told the Star-Advertiser on Thursday. “We are trying to arrange to visit Washington, D.C., and meet with our advisers and congressional delegation and staff, who might have a much better insight as the days pass.”
HECO hopes to eliminate the use of fossil fuels for electric power by 2045. Hawaii spent $5.4 billion on petroleum in 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and about one-fourth of its petroleum usage goes to electricity.
Oshima said the U.S. Department of Defense is still committed to renewable energy, and that it is an important partner in several HECO projects.
The utility is partnering with the U.S. Navy to build a solar energy facility at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. HECO also plans to develop and operate a half-biofuel, half-fossil fuel plant on a lot it rents from the U.S. Army at Schofield Barracks.