 |
The Wave is pleased to reprint this article with permission from the author, Douglas A. Codiga, and the Hawaii Bar Journal. It was originally published in the Hawaii Bar Journal, Volume13, No. 9 (September 2009).
Hawaii has embarked on a major transition from the use of imported fossil fuels to the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency, or “clean energy,” for electricity production and transportation. This transition is driven by a confluence of environmental and economic factors and shaped by emerging clean energy law and policy.
Environmental concerns center on greenhouse gas emissions from the use of imported fossil fuels, which are linked to climate change and associated sea level rise, severe weather events, and harm to agriculture and tourism.1 Hawaii law requires statewide reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020,2 and the Hawaii Legislature has concluded that accelerating the use and development of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies can contribute to greenhouse gas reduction.3 Clean energy (i.e., renewable energy and energy efficiency) is promoted as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change by replacing the use of imported fossil fuels with solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and ocean energy.
Equally compelling economic factors are also driving the transition to clean energy. Nearly 77% of Hawaii’s electricity and about 95% of its transportation fuels are produced from petroleum.4 Hawaii pays the highest electricity prices in the United States.5 Consumers spent an estimated $6.21 billion for energy in 2007, or approximately 10% of Hawaii’s Gross State Product.6 The Legislature has concluded the global demand for petroleum has caused severe economic hardships in Hawaii and threatens to impair the public health, safety and welfare.7 These challenges are matched by significant economic opportunities, including development and construction of renewable energy facilities, improvements to the electric grids and transportation infrastructure, export of innovative clean energy technologies, and creation of a clean energy economy workforce.8
Energy law and policy are playing a critical role in Hawaii’s transition from imported fossil fuels to clean energy. The emerging field of clean energy law incorporates and seeks to further existing and well-developed renewable energy and energy efficiency law and policy. Beginning with adoption of the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (“PURPA”) in 1978, renewable energy and energy efficiency have been governed by complex and well-developed statutes, regulations, reported decisions, and policy mechanisms.9
Building upon these established legal regimes, clean energy is emerging as a dynamic and important area of federal and Hawaii state law. For example, in October 2008, the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative – a landmark accord signed by the state and the Hawaiian Electric Companies – announced the aspiration of achieving “70 percent clean, renewable energy for electricity and transportation by 2020[.]”10 Less than a year later, the Hawaii Legislature mandated that by 2030 forty percent of net electricity sales by electric utility companies in Hawaii shall be from renewable electrical energy, and energy efficiency measures shall cause the equivalent of a thirty percent reduction in energy use.11 State law therefore now essentially requires seventy percent “clean energy” by 2030, as called for under the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. The increasing prominence of clean energy is reflected in the title of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on June 26, 2009 and considered the most important federal energy legislation in decades.12
The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview of key developments in Hawaii clean energy law and policy. A comprehensive discussion of the many complex federal and State laws governing renewable energy and energy efficiency is beyond the scope of this article. Instead, selected aspects of Hawaii clean energy law are surveyed in an effort to provide an introductory overview of this area of the law, and to suggest how it may govern electricity production and transportation in Hawaii in the years to come.
Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative and Energy Agreement
The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (“HCEI”) and Energy Agreement are important sources of potential goals and objectives for Hawaii statutory law in the area of clean energy. On January 31, 2008, the State of Hawaii and the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a long-term partnership between the State and the DOE intended to result in a “fundamental and sustained transformation” in the way in which energy resources are planned and used in Hawaii, and creation of a “replicable global model” for achieving similar results elsewhere.13 The MOU seeks to foster innovation in the use of clean energy technologies, establish an “open source” learning model, and build a workforce to support a clean energy economy. 14 The State and DOE agree to collaborate to designate working groups to produce long-term clean energy plans in the areas of end-use efficiency, electric generation, energy delivery, transportation, technology integration, financing, and policy and regulatory mechanisms.15 The MOU provides that it is not legally enforceable, creates no legal obligation for the State or DOE, and creates no private cause of action for any third party.16
On October 20, 2008, less than nine months after the HCEI was launched, a landmark agreement (commonly referred to as the Energy Agreement) was signed by Governor Lingle; the Division of Consumer Advocacy, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (“DBEDT”); and the Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (“HECO”).17 In the Energy Agreement, the State and HECO declare “[t]he future of Hawaii requires that we move more decisively and irreversibly away from imported fossil fuel for electricity and transportation and towards indigenously produced renewable energy and an ethic of energy efficiency,” and “[t]he very future of our land, our economy and our quality of life is at risk if we do not make this move and we do so for the future of Hawaii and of the generations to come.”18 The parties further commit to the goal of “70 percent clean, renewable energy for electricity and transportation by 2030[.]”19 The fifty-one page Energy Agreement is comprehensive in scope and sets forth over three dozen substantive clean energy policy areas and objectives. Notably, this includes a commitment by the Hawaiian Electric companies (HECO, Maui Electric Company, Ltd., and Hawaiian Electric Light Company, Inc.) to add approximately 1,122 megawatts (“MW”) of additional new renewable energy resources statewide by 2030.20 The parties also agree to seek legislative changes to the Renewable Portfolio Standard, integrate up to 400 MW of wind power into the Oahu electrical system from one or more wind farms on Lanai or Molokai and transmitted to Oahu via an undersea cable system, implement feed-in tariffs, decouple utility revenues from sales, support the development of an Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard, and support alternative electric vehicles. It is worth noting such commitments by the Energy Agreement parties, although considered to be important, likely do not create legally binding obligations. Regulatory proceedings before the State Public Utilities Commission (“Commission”) have been initiated to investigate and potentially authorize several of the Energy Agreement’s leading initiatives, including feed-in tariffs and decoupling.
Feed-in Tariffs and Decoupling
In April 2009, the Commission conducted a five-day panel hearing on the adoption of feed-in tariffs in Hawaii, as called for by the Energy Agreement, which drew national media attention.21 A feed-in tariff is a set of standardized, published purchased power rates, including terms and conditions, which the utility is required to pay to renewable energy providers for electricity provided to the grid.22 Essentially a type of standard offer contract, feed-in tariffs provide certainty to renewable energy developers and investors, thereby stimulating development and utility acquisition of solar, wind, and other types of renewable energy.23 Including the utilities and the Consumer Advocate, there are twenty-two parties in the proceeding. Intervenor parties include county government agencies; solar, wind, and biomass renewable energy developers; trade associations; and clean energy advocacy groups.24
A critical legal issue identified early in the feed-in tariff proceeding was whether the Commission may establish a feed-in tariff rate, for utility purchase of renewable energy, which exceeds the avoided cost standard established under federal and state law. Federal regulations implementing PURPA have been construed to limit the rate of payment for utility purchases of renewable energy to an amount equivalent to the cost the utility avoided by not generating or purchasing the same power from another utility.25 Section 269-27.2(c), Hawaii Revised Statutes, contained a similar avoided cost limit on utility purchase of renewable energy, which was deleted during the 2009 legislative session.26 Considering much the same issue, in June 2009 the California Attorney General submitted a legal brief in a regulatory proceeding before the California Public Utilities Commission on feed-in tariffs which concluded that the California Commission has “ample authority to establish an effective [feed-in tariff] price level.”27 Feed-in tariffs have been adopted in over thirty-seven countries28 and have “stimulated more renewable technology than any other policy mechanism.”29 Should the Commission authorize such a tariff pursuant to the pending proceeding, Hawaii would be among the first states in the country to adopt a feed-in tariff.
In a parallel proceeding, the Commission is considering whether to authorize a similarly innovative regulatory mechanism that decouples the utilities’ revenues and profits from its electricity sales.30 The Energy Agreement explains that decoupling of revenues from sales will remove barriers for the utilities to pursue aggressive energy efficiency measures and third-party owned renewable energy systems, while providing the utilities with an opportunity to achieve fair rates of return. Final Commission decisions in the feed-in tariff and decoupling proceedings are expected by the end of 2009.
Renewable Portfolio Standards
Efforts to transition from imported fossil fuels to clean energy, such as the Commission proceedings investigating feed-in tariffs, decoupling, and other clean energy initiatives,31 are driven in part by the utilities’ statutory requirement to acquire specific percentages of electrical energy from renewable energy and energy efficiency, or Renewable Portfolio Standards (“RPS”).32 Under Part V of Chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes (“Hawaii RPS law”), “renewable electrical energy” means (i) “electrical energy generated using renewable energy as the source” and also “electrical energy savings.”33 The latter may be brought about by the use of renewable displacement or offset technologies such as solar water heating, seawater air conditioning for district cooling, and customer-sited renewable energy systems, or by the use of energy efficiency technologies, including heat pump water heating, ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs, and recycled waste heat from co-generation and combined heat and power systems.34
The Hawaii RPS law requires each utility company that sells electricity in the state to establish a renewable portfolio standard of ten percent of its net electricity sales by December 31, 2010; fifteen percent of its sales by December 31, 2015; twenty-five percent of its sales by 2020; and (as mentioned above) forty percent of its sales by 2030.35 Prior to January 1, 2015, at least fifty percent of the RPS shall be met by “electrical energy generated using renewable energy as the source.”36 Beginning January 1, 2015, however, “electrical energy savings” shall not count toward RPS and the entire RPS must be met by electrical generation from renewable energy sources.37 Like the Hawaii RPS law, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) sets forth a national renewable electricity standard that would require utilities to supply an increasing percentage of their load from a combination of energy-efficiency savings and renewable energy (6% in 2012, 9.5% in 2014, 13% in 2016, 16.5% in 2018, and 20% in 2020-2039), although state RPS laws are not preempted and may require an RPS that is more stringent than the federal program.38
If the Commission determines after a hearing that an electric utility company failed to meet the RPS, the utility shall be subject to a penalty of $20 for each megawatt hour the utility falls short of the RPS.39 The Commission may, however, in its discretion waive any applicable penalties if it determines the electric utility company is unable to meet the RPS due to events or circumstances “beyond the usual control” of the utility.40 Such events or circumstances include the failure of renewable energy producers to meet contractual obligations, lapsing of renewable energy tax credits, the inability to obtain “cost-effective” renewable electrical energy, and the inability of renewable energy development projects to obtain permits or land use approvals.41 Permitting and Environmental Review for Renewable Energy Projects
In 2008, the Hawaii Legislature adopted Chapter 201N, Hawaii Revised Statutes, “Renewable Energy Siting Process” (“Chapter 201N”). The Legislature found that “coordinating the process for required permits” is in the State’s interest in order to reduce Hawaii’s over-dependence on imported fossil fuels and meet Hawaii’s energy self-sufficiency goals.42 The Legislature also established the position of Renewable Energy Facilitator within DBEDT.43 (It should be noted that although the Director of DBEDT serves as the Energy Resources Coordinator (“coordinator”),44 and Chapter 201N refers throughout to the coordinator, in practice the coordinator’s duties are undertaken by the Renewable Energy Facilitator.45)
Under Chapter 201N, the coordinator shall develop a permit plan application format and procedure, receive the permit plan application from an applicant, and indentify all state and county permits necessary for approval of the renewable energy facility.46 The coordinator shall further assist the permit plan application process by “coordinating the permitting process,” giving technical assistance, overseeing the creation of the permit plan, and facilitating “timely review and permitting” of the facility.47 The coordinator shall also coordinate public meetings and work with federal, state and county agencies and the applicant to determine the terms and conditions of the permit plan and permits.48 The permit plan shall include all state and county permits needed, all required applicant information, and a plan for the permits to be processed concurrently.49
Chapter 201N addresses the timing of permit approvals for renewable energy projects. The permit plan is to be designed to ensure that all permits identified in the plan are processed and either denied or approved no later than twelve months after the date the project permit plan is accepted.50 State and county agencies shall similarly “diligently endeavor to process and approve or deny” within the same twelve-month period. In particular, counties are to establish an expedited process for review and issuance of building and grading permits.51 The coordinator is directed to “facilitate the timely processing of the permit plan” with federal, state and county agencies.52
Chapter 201N contemplates automatic approvals. If the coordinator has given at least 30 days’ written notice stating that the permit plan application is subject to this law, and the permit is not approved or denied within the 12-month period, within 30 days following the end of the 12-month period the permitting agency shall provide the coordinator with a report “identifying diligent measures that are being taken by the agency to complete processing and take action as soon as possible.”53 If no further processing and action are reported by the permitting agency within five months following the end of the 30-day agency report period, the coordinator may deem the permit approved.54 In addition, if the agency fails to provide the report identifying “diligent measures” and the permit has not been approved or denied within eighteen months following completion of the permit plan application, the permit shall be deemed approved.55 Chapter 201N also addresses the potentially contentious issue of environmental review of renewable energy projects under Chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes (“Chapter 343”). The coordinator may hold a pre-application conference with a prospective applicant “without regard to final acceptance of the final environmental impact statement,”56 and the permit plan shall include an agreement regarding the timeline and coordination for potential environmental impact statements (“EIS”) and permit concurrence, review and issuance.57 Chapter 343 shall apply to any permit plan application for a renewable energy facility, however, and the coordinator shall not accept a permit plan application prior to acceptance of an EIS for the facility.58 An agency may review and commence processing applications for permits prior to acceptance of a permit plan by the coordinator, provided that action to grant or deny a permit shall not be taken until after final acceptance of an EIS.59
Finally, in a further effort to encourage clean energy the Hawaii Legislature recently amended Chapter 201N to include a new section allowing lands to be leased and easements to be created within the agricultural or conservation state land use districts, for the purpose of renewable energy projects, even if the leased land or easement area has not been subdivided as a separate subdivided lot or easement.60 The Legislature also established a public process with regard to the lease of public lands done without public auctions to renewable energy producers. The process requires public notice to other interested renewable energy producers, not less than two public hearings, and prohibits involuntary termination of existing leases of public lands.61
Energy Efficiency
Like the Hawaii RPS law, which establishes a renewable portfolio standard, Hawaii clean energy law now includes Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards (“EEPS”).62 The EEPS are intended to “set a target of electricity-use reduction to be achieved in incremental stages” and maximize cost-effective energy efficiency programs and technologies.63 They shall be designed to achieve 4,300 gigawatt hours of electricity use reductions statewide by 2030, and the Commission shall establish interim goals for 2015, 2020, and 2025.64 The Commission may also establish incentives and penalties.65
Energy efficiency extends to residential real property under Hawaii clean energy law. Prior to the sale of residential real property, a property owner shall make a good faith declaration of electricity cost based on the most recent three-month period in which the property was occupied prior to the date of the seller’s disclosure, pursuant to Chapter 508, Hawaii Revised Statutes.66 On or after January 1, 2010, no building permit shall be issued for a new single- family dwelling that does not include a solar water heater unless a variance has been approved.67 In addition, noting that electric clothes dryers make up over ten percent of many households’ total energy use and that “simple clotheslines make efficient use of two abundant resources, the sun and wind,” the Hawaii Legislature has mandated that no person shall be prevented by any covenant, declaration, bylaws, restriction, deed, lease, contract, or other binding agreement, however worded, from installing a clothesline on any single-family dwelling or townhouse that the person owns.68 Private entities may adopt rules that reasonably restrict the placement and use of clotheslines, however, provided such restrictions “do not prevent the use of clotheslines altogether.”69
Transportation
For the same environmental and economic reasons Hawaii has embarked on a transition to clean energy for electricity production, the 2009 Legislature concluded it is “essential for the State to aggressively promote and develop alternatives to fossil fuel modes of transportation.”70 Accordingly, the purpose of Act 156 is to provide sufficient tools to develop an infrastructure for electric vehicles in Hawaii.71
Act 156 therefore amends state law to require the designation of parking spaces and the installation of charging units for electric vehicles. Specifically, the law requires all public, private, and government parking facilities available for use by the general public, that have at least one hundred parking spaces, to designate one percent of parking spaces exclusively for electric vehicles by December 31, 2011, provided that at least one of the parking spaces designated for electric vehicles is located near the building entrance and is equipped with an electric vehicle charging unit.72 Spaces shall be designated and clearly marked.73 Beginning January 1, 2012, any person who parks a non-electric vehicle in an electric vehicle space shall receive a warning. After July 1, 2013, however, such persons shall be guilty of a traffic infraction and fined $50 to $100.74
When the number of registered vehicles in the state reaches 5,000, the spaces designated for electric vehicles shall increase to two percent of parking spaces, and shall continue to increase by one percent for each additional 5,000 electric vehicles registered in the state until the percentage reaches ten percent of parking spaces. Owners of multiple parking lots within the state may designate and electrify fewer parking spaces than required in one or more of their owned lots as long as the requirement is met for the total number of aggregate spaces on all of their owned properties.75 Finally, Act 156 establishes a Transportation Energy Transformation Grant Fund Program, to be administered by DBEDT, to provide grants for the acquisition of electric vehicles, installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and innovative programs that “diversify transportation energy sources.”76
With regard to both transportation and electricity production, Hawaii is moving toward in-creased reliance on clean energy. Economic and environmental factors appear to be aligned in a manner that supports this shift and efforts to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels by increasing energy efficiency and stimulating the rapid adoption of indigenous, renewable energy from solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and ocean sources. Emerging law and policy are likely to continue to play an important role in shaping Hawaii’s transition to a clean energy future.
Douglas A. Codiga practices environmental and land use law with the law firm of Schlack Ito Lockwood Piper & Elkind, LLC. He is a founding member of the firm’s Climate and Sustainability Law Practice Group, which advises and represents businesses and landowners on clean technology, green building, and climate change legal and regulatory matters. More information is available at www.sil-law.com.
Endnotes ___________________________________________________________
1 2007 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 234 §1(a); H.B. 226, 24th Leg. (Haw. 2007). 2 Haw. Rev. Stat. § 342B-71. 3 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 155 § 1; H.B. 1464, 25th Leg. (Haw. 2009). 4 State of Hawaii Energy Resources Coordinator Annual Report (2008) at 1, available at http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/energy/publications/erc08.pdf.. 5 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 155 § 1. 6 State of Hawaii Energy Resources Coordinator Annual Report (2008) at 2, available at http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/energy/publications/erc08.pdf. 7 Haw. Rev. Stat. § 196-1(1). 8 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 155 § 1. 9 16 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. The many other federal statutes related to renewable energy include the Energy Policy Act, 42 USC § 13201 et seq. (addressing energy production including energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy tax incentives, and climate change technology), the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, 42 U.S.C. § 152 (intended to increase the production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers, increase the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles, promote research on greenhouse gas capture and storage options, and improve the energy performance of the federal government); and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. Law. No. 111-5, 123 Stat. 115 (2009) ($70 billion in direct spending and tax credits for clean energy and associated transportation programs). 10 “Hawaii Powered: Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative” (HCEI goal is “to meet 70% of Hawai’i’s Energy needs with clean energy by 2030”), available at http://www.hawaiicleanenergyinitiative.org/. 11 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 155 §§ 3, 11; see also “Hawaii Powered: Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative” (Energy efficiency measures implemented over the next two decades can save 4,300 gigawatt hours of electricity, equivalent to approximately thirty percent of the demand forecasted for 2030), available at http://www.hawaiicleanenergyinitiative.org. 12 H.R. 2454, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on June 26, 2009 with the short title, “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009” (“H.R. 2454”), states that it is an act “[t]o create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy.” 111th Congress, H.R. 2454 (June 26, 2009) at 1. Under H.R. 2454, the term “clean energy technology” is defined to include both technologies that produce energy from renewable energy resources and technologies that enhance or improve energy efficiency. See Act at § 171(b)(2)(A), (C), (G). 13 “Memorandum of Understanding Between the State of Hawaii and the U.S. Department of Energy”at 1, available at http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/pdfs/hawaii_mou.pdf. 14 Id. at 2. 15 Id. at 2; see also Appendix at 5-6. 16 Id. at 3. 17 “Energy Agreement Among the State of Hawaii, Division of Consumer Advocacy of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and the Hawaiian Electric Companies” dated Oct. 20, 2008 (“Energy Agreement”), available at http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/energy/agreement/signed2008oct20.pdf.Id. at 3. 18 Energy Agreement at 1. 19 Id. at 18. 20 See appendices to Energy Agreement (setting forth “Timelines” for renewable energy acquisition). 21 Mark Niesse, Hawaii gets to work on energy independence, USA Today, Apr. 18, 2009, available at http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=indystar&sParam=30576831.story. 22 Energy Agreement Summary of Key Agreements at 3, available at http://heco.com/vcmcontent/StaticFiles/pdf/HCEI_Summary-Final.pdf. 23 Energy Agreement at 16. Net energy metering and State and federal tax incentives are established methods of stimulating renewable energy development which predate and differ from feed-in tariffs (in particular, tax credits promote consumption by residential and commercial customer-generators of energy they produce, and feed-in tariffs promote production of energy to be distributed on the grid). Part VI of Chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes, “Net Energy Metering,” became effective June 25, 2001. Net energy metering (“NEM”) is defined as “measuring the difference between the electricity supplied through the electric grid and the electricity generated by an eligible customer-generator and fed back into the electric grid over a monthly billing period.” Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-101. Essentially, customer-generators are billed only on the net kilowatt-hours of electricity they use. The maximum generating capacity per customer must be no more than fifty kilowatts (“kW”), although the Commission may increase this amount. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-101.5. In 2008, the Commission increased the maximum capacity limit on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii to 100 kW. See State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, Decision and Order No. 24089 filed Mar. 13, 2008 (Docket No. 2006-0084) at 16-17, available at http://dms.puc.hawaii.gov/dms/. Similarly, there is a statutory cap on the total power producing capacity of eligible customer-generators of 0.5 percent of the system peak demand, although the Commission may increase this amount. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-104. In 2008, the Commission increased this amount to one percent on Oahu and three percent on Maui and Hawaii. See Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, Order Approving, in Part, and Denying, in Part, Stipulations Filed on December 3, 2008, filed Dec. 26, 2008 (Docket No. 2006-0084) at 9, 13, available at http://dms.puc.hawaii.gov/dms/. Along with NEM, federal and State tax incentives have been adopted to stimulate renewable energy production. See, e.g., Haw. Rev. Stat. § 235-12.5. In 2009, the Hawaii Legislature amended the renewable energy technologies income tax credit to permit a portion of the excess of the credit over payments due to be refunded to taxpayers, thereby creating a refundable tax credit available to taxpayers with no tax liabilities. 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 154 § 1; S.B. 464, 25th Leg. (Haw. 2009). 24 See State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, Order Granting Intervention filed Nov. 28, 2008 (Docket No. 2008-0273) at 1, available at http://dms.puc.hawaii.gov/dms/. 25 18 C.F.R. § 292.304(b)(3); see, e.g., Connecticut Light & Power Co., 71 F.E.R.C. ¶ 61,035, 61,153; 70 F.E.R.C. ¶ 61,012; Kansas City Power & Light Co. v State Corp. Com., 234 Kan. 1052 (1984). 26 See 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 50 § 2, H.B. 1270, 25th Leg. (Haw. 2009). 27California Attorney General’s Response to ALJ’s Request for Briefs Regarding Jurisdiction to Set Prices for a Feed-in Tariff at 2, available at http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/efile/BRIEF/103034.pdf. 28 See Joint Proposal on Feed-In Tariffs of the HECO Companies and Consumer Advocate filed Dec. 23, 2008, available at http://dms.puc.hawaii.gov/dms/. 29 P. Gipe, Renewable Energy Policy Mechanisms (Feb. 17, 2006), available at http://www.wind-works.org/FeedLaws/RenewableEnergyPolicyMechanismsbyPaulGipe.pdf/. 30 Energy Agreement Summary of Key Agreements at 3, available at http://heco.com/vcmcontent/StaticFiles/pdf/HCEI_Summary-Final.pdf. 31 In addition to the feed-in tariffs and decoupling proceedings, HCEI-related proceedings before the Commission include Advanced Metering Infrastructure/Time of Use Rates (Docket No. 2008-0303), Photovoltaic Host Program (Docket No. 2009-0098), and Clean Energy Scenario Planning (Docket No. 2009-0108). 32 See Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 269, Part V. 33 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 155 § 2. 34 Id. 35 Id. at § 3. 36 Id 37 Id. 38 See American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, H.R. 2454, 111th Cong. at §§ 101, 102, 861 (2009). 39 Id. See State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, “Order Relating to RPS Penalties” filed Dec. 19, 2008 at 1 (Docket No. 2007-0008) (establishing $20/MWh penalty), available at http://dms.puc.hawaii.gov/dms/. 40 Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-92(c). 41 Id. at § 269-92(d). 42 2008 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 207 § 1; H.B. 2863, 24th Leg. (Haw. 2008). 43 Haw. Rev. Stat. § 201-12.5; see also 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 155 § 6 (amending Haw. Rev. Stat. § 201-12.5(b)(1)). 44 Haw. Rev. Stat. § 196-3. 45 Theodore E. Liu serves as Director of DBEDT and as Energy Resources Coordinator, and Joshua B. Strickler, Esq., P.E. serves as the DBEDT Renewable Energy Facilitator. 46 Haw. Rev. Stat. § 201N-3(1)-(3). Renewable energy facility means a new facility with a capacity to produce at least 200 MW of renewable energy, provided that facilities with a capacity of 5-199 MW may apply to the coordinator for designation as a renewable energy facility. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 201N-1; 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 155 § 7 (Haw. 2009). 47 Id. at § 201N-3(4). 48 Id. at § 201N-3(6)-(7). 49 Id. at § 201N-4(d). 50 Id. at § 201N-4(f). 51 Id. at § 201N-9. 52 Id. at § 201N-5-7. 53 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 155 § 8. 54 Id. 55 Id. 56 H.R.S. § 201N-4(b). 57 H.R.S. § 201N-4(d)(5). 58 H.R.S. § 201N-8(a), (b). 59 H.R.S. § 201N-8(b). 60 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 173 § 2, H.B. 589, 25th Leg. (Haw. 2009). 61 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 19 § 1, S.B. 50, 25th Leg. (Haw. 2009). 62 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 155, Part VI. 63 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 155 § 10. 64 Id. at § 11. 65 Id. 66 Id. 67 Id. at § 14. 68 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 192 §§ 1-2, S.B. 1338, 25th Leg. (Haw. 2009). 69 Id. 70 2009 Haw. Sess. Laws, Act 156 § 1, S.B. 1202, 25th Leg. (Haw. 2009). 71 Id. 72 Id. at § 4. 73 Id. 74 Id. 75 Id. 76 Id. at § 7.
|
