Dive Brief:
- The revision of the Hawaiian Electric Companies Integrated Resource Plan — ordered by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission after commissioners found HECO’s initial plan inadequate in bill savings and renewables additions — proposes to cut customers' electric bills 20%, nearly triple rooftop solar, and integrate enough renewables to brings its current 18% to a U.S.-leading 65% by 2030.
- HECO will boost the island’s rooftop solar by 2030 by using a more transparent planning process that specifies the annual amount of solar to be added and by improving its grid infrastructure to handle more variable solar without compromising reliability.
- HECO will also add more energy storage to stabilize its renewables-heavy grid, develop smart grids to allow customers monitor and use electricity more efficiently, provide community solar programs, incorporate microgrid projects, expand demand response resources, and offer financial incentives for using off-peak electricity.
Dive Insight:
Because the IRP’s proposals are mostly revisions of plans put forward in the initial version, most of the programs and projects are already started or in planning.
Energy storage is being planned for Oahu by early 2017 and for Maui, Molokai, Lanai and the Big Island after that. Smart grids are being tested on Oahu and should be on Maui and the Big Island by the end of 2017. HECO has begun developing liquefied natural gas capability and should complete the conversion, or shuttering, of its fuel oil plants by 2030.
The HECO companies are Hawaiian Electric Co., Maui Electric Co. and Hawaii Electric Light Co.
