Governing Green Power
Governing Green Power II: How should utilities of the future make money?
University of Hawai‘i at MānoaInnovation Laboratory — iLab (directions and map) Growth of renewable energy, reduced economies of scale, rapidly falling storage costs, network communication technologies, plus customer self-generation, load shifting and efficiency options, all have the potential to dramatically change the nature of electricity systems. Underlying this is the eroding viability of incumbent regulatory […]
Read MoreDeterminants of Residential Solar Photovoltaic Adoption
Hawaii is a leader in distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) adoption. It has the highest rate of PV-based electricity penetration in the U.S. and rivals global front runners. The policy impetus towards large-scale adoption of renewable energy comes from the Renewable Portfolio Standard, with a target of 40% net electricity sales from renewable sources by the […]
Read MoreBringing together energy and climate change policy
By Sherilyn Wee We hear a lot about Hawaii’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) which requires 100% of the utilities’ net electricity sales to come from renewable sources by 2045. Subsidies, rapidly declining solar panel costs, and high electricity prices have led to the proliferation of distributed rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV). By the end of 2016, […]
Read MoreGoverning Green Power: Realigning Institutions To Fit New Technologies
The “Governing Green Power” conference was held in Honolulu at the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa, March 28-30, 2017. The motivation for the conference was the recognition that energy technologies are changing faster than energy-related institutions — the organizational structures, market mechanisms, and regulatory incentives that govern power generation, transmission, distribution and storage. The complex […]
Read MoreA Scoping Study for Climate Action Planning in Kauaʻi
This report documents best practices for county-level climate action plans (CAPs), with considerations for Kaua‘i. A CAP is primarily a process by which a jurisdiction agrees upon greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies and policies. This report is based on the gathering of studies and protocols addressing climate action planning and GHG mitigation best practices.
Read MoreThe Role of Policy and Peers in EV Adoption
By Sherilyn Wee, Makena Coffman and Sumner LaCroix Electric vehicles (EVs) can be a cleaner means of transportation compared to cars with traditional gasoline engines. They have the added benefit of being able to provide support to the electric power grid—an increasingly important attribute in states like Hawaii with high levels of intermittent renewable energy. […]
Read MoreEffect of Electric Vehicles on Design, Operation and Cost of a 100% Renewable Power System
This report outlines the effect that electric vehicles could have on the cost of transport and electricity production in the context of a 100% renewable power system (RPS). Results presented here were produced using the SWITCH power system planning model, configured to choose a least-cost plan to achieve 100% renewable power on Oahu by 2045, […]
Read MoreGoverning Green Power I: Realigning Institutions to Fit New Technologies
Technology and institutions coevolve. Institutions can encourage or discourage innovation and adoption of technologies. Technological change, in turn, can drive institutional change. This dynamic has reached a critical phase in the electricity sector where low-cost and subsidized intermittent renewable energy is upsetting old models of grid management and stability. The broad public challenge, in Hawaiʻi […]
Read MoreEstimating the Opportunity for Load-Shifting in Hawaii: An Analysis of Proposed Residential Time-of-Use Rates
Hawaii’s largest electric utility, Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) and its subsidiaries recently proposed a Time of Use (TOU) pricing scheme for residential rates. The TOU scheme has three tiers of prices: daytime, on-peak, and nighttime. The proposed rates have the highest cost during the on-peak period from 5pm to 10pm. For Oahu, the lowest cost […]
Read More