HECO on County of Hawaii & Aina Koa Pono

HECO is protesting the right of the County of Hawai‘i to participate in the start-up biofuel company Aina Koa Pono’s contract before the PUC.

BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION  OF THE STATE OF HAWAI’I 

In the Matter of the Application of  HAWAII ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY, INC.  HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC.  MAUI ELECTRIC COMPANY, LIMITED 

For Approval of the Biodiesel Supply  Contract with Aina Koa Pono-Ka’u LLC and  for Approval to Establish a Biofijel Surcharge  Provision and to Include the Biodiesel Supply  Contract Costs in the Companies’ Respective  Biofuel Surcharge Provision and Energy Cost  Adjustment Clause. 

Docket No. 2011-0005  HAWAII ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY, INC.’S,  HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC.’S AND  MAUI ELECTRIC COMPANY, LIMITED’S  MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION TO COUNTY OF HAWAII”S  MOTION TO PARTICIPATE WITHOUT INTERVENTION…

Read the rest here

First, HECO wanted to keep the details secret. Now it’s saying that the County is late, so it should not participate.

What about the County’s responsibility to look after the best interests of the people? That should count for a lot.

HECO says that the County has not stated the specific type of expertise, knowledge or experience it holds, now how it relates to the issues on this docket.

How about common sense?

The problem with this contract is that HECO is allowing Aina Koa Pono (AKP) to pass on its costs, over and above the oil cost it replaces, to the rate payer.

Sun Fuels, the most experienced company in Hawai‘i in terms of biofuel to liquid, has closed its Hawaii company because it does not think it can be competitive with diesel. One of the main issues is the company does not feel the process is scalable in Hawai‘i.

Sun Fuels’ principal, Michael Saalfeld, a Waimea resident, has actually put this process into production via a company he owns in Germany. He knows how this process works.  There is no one in Hawai‘i more experienced.

So we have the most knowledgeable company in the state closing up shop because it knows it’s uneconomical to do biomass to liquid fuel here – while the company with no experience in the field gets a contract allowing it to pass on its costs of operation to Hawai‘i’s people.

AKP has settled on a Napier grass feedstock after proposing all kinds of others, which left people with the impression that they were like drunken sailors bouncing off the walls.

And HECO is protesting Hawai‘i County’s right to participate?

What is up here?

One thought on “HECO on County of Hawaii & Aina Koa Pono”

  1. I do not approve the Aina Koa Pono project for the following reasons: 1. destruction of natural ag land, 2. high cost of planting, harvesting, processing biomass.

    The money for this project would be better spent expanding and improving solar, wind, geothermal and wave generating technology, some of which is already in place.

    If this goes through I will invest in solar and wind turbine technology with a back up generator and operate off the grid so I am not a victim of this consumer money grab.

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