New Hawaii laws aim at saving energy, growing

zvonkovaleoqim.blogspot.com
The bills, two of which have already been signedr into lawby Gov. Linda will cost everyone more Officials say the additional costs now will help move Hawaik toward greener and possibly cheaper forms of energuy inthe future. The billsx include one that imposes a higher surcharge on each barrelk of oil imported intothe state. Anotheer requires electric utilities to bemore green. There’z even a bill allowing all homeowners tohang clotheslines, somethin previously prohibited by some community Rep.
Hermina Morita, chairwoman of the Housew committee on energy and environmental said the various measures build on the Hawai CleanEnergy Initiative, which aims to cut the state’x dependence on oil for making electrical power over the next 20 “We know we have to be realisticv and pragmatic in crafting laws that will framwe our clean energy opportunities long into the future,” said D-Kapaa-Hanalei. “Right now, the emphasis of Hawaii’zs clean energy future needs to be on maximizingenergy efficiency, to put off the decisioh and need to build new fossilp fuel power plants, the integration of a renewable-energhy system into a modernized smart grid.
” The increasinglyg influential played an active role at the Legislaturse this year, setting up a specialo Web site to track energy-related bills, running print and radio ads to increasr public awareness of bills, and organizing a publi rally. “Most Hawaii residents support a cleanenergh future, but we want to translate that supportr into new policies that drive Hawaii’es energy future,” said Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the which is bankrolled by loca l video game entrepreneur Henk Rogers. The group has a missioj of “changing the world’s energy culture”.
the former long-time director of the Hawaii chaptert of the Sierra described the outcome of the session asa “major leap forward” for cleanm energy. • House Bill 1464: Includes five policiesw aimed atincreasing clean-energy use and and encouraging energy efficiency in the state. It also increases the requirerd amounts of clean energy that sells over the nexttwo • House Bill 1271: Imposes a $1 surcharge on everyu barrel of oil imported to the state, generating abou $40 million annually. The current tax is a nickel per barrel. That money is earmarked for a speciall fund to be used for carrying out goals in the Hawai i CleanEnergy Initiative.
• Senate Bill 464: Altera the state’s tax credits for investing in renewableenergyg technologies, including photovoltaic and wind-energh systems. It reduces the amount of the tax credits, but should make them more widelyh available to businesses and homeowners using them to offsetg any incometax owed. • Senate Bill Sets up incentives for investing in electric vehicles and the infrastructurse needed to support green carsin • Senate Bill 1338: Allows homeowners to hang The measure would override or preventr homeowner associations from restricting the lines.
Lingle has 45 days from the closw of the session to sign or veto the or they will become law withouther signature. That resultsz in a July 15 deadlinethis year. The two energyy measures that have already been signed into law alte rexisting laws. They are: House Bill 1270: Aims to encouragd large-scale renewable energy projectx by deleting a provision in a law that capperd the price the electric utility paid toa so-called independenyt power producer (a wind farm operator, for The former cap was 100 perceng of the cost that the utility avoid by purchasing the electrical energgy rather than producing it.
• Senate Bill 1260: Addressexs a loophole that existed inthe state’s air pollutioh laws, which allowed large polluters such as power plants and refineriez — to avoid paying per-ton penalties on excessive Morita said she views HB 1271, the increasedr tax on a barrelp of oil, as the most significanty energy-related bill to come out of the The state would divide the tax — renamerd the environmental response, energy and food security tax — among the statre general fund and three other funds one for food security, one for environmentalo response and one for energy security.