Las Vegas Sun

June 4, 2012

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Sun editorial:

Energy transformation

Hawaii, determined to kick its oil dependency, is alive with renewable energy projects

Friday, Sept. 18, 2009 | 2:06 a.m.

Aloha, which can mean either hello or goodbye, is an especially appropriate word now in Hawaii. The Aloha State is saying hello to renewable energy and goodbye to fossil fuels.

A plan to generate at least 70 percent of Hawaii’s energy from clean, renewable sources by 2030 is being led out of the governor’s office, and for a good reason.

Here is what Republican Gov. Linda Lingle says on the state’s Web page: “Oil pollutes the environment, transfers billions of dollars out of our economy year after year and leaves us dependent on the goodwill of foreign countries and companies for our very survival.”

Hawaii derives 77 percent of its energy from imported oil, rendering it the most oil-dependent state in the country. Fourteen percent of its energy comes from coal-fired power plants and only 9 percent from renewable sources.

Lingle, determined to move Hawaii toward a cleaner and far more independent energy future, announced the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative in January 2008. The initiative involves an unprecedented partnership with the U.S. Energy Department, which is helping the state with the technical aspects of connecting its six main islands with transmission lines and integrating the various sources of power.

Today the state is receiving national attention for the number and types of renewable energy projects it has begun. The New York Times, for example, wrote this week that Hawaii has the most diverse array of alternative energy potential of any state in the union, and that it is aggressively putting that potential to good use.

The story pointed out that Gov. Lingle is not shrinking from the many obstacles in the way of transforming Hawaii’s energy future, but is meeting the challenges head on. She is coordinating with all the players, including the federal government, utilities, renewable energy developers and residents.

Lingle’s leadership is a good model for Nevada, where the governor’s office has not acted urgently on renewable energy and, as a result, development is slow in light of the potential.

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