Utility Dive's Editor, Gavin Bade was a participant and files his Maui Energy Conference report,
"Getting to 100% renewables: How Hawaii plans to get fossil fuels off the grid." Mr. Bade's insightful reporting captures the gist of the conference. Kudos, again, to the Maui Energy Conference organizers to include a journalist with excellent knowledge and background on the electric utility sector and the ability to articulate the uniqueness of Hawaii's situation in a national context.
I can see why the PUC threw the last plan back in HECO's faces if the lack of substance in Carlton Chang's "on one hand, on the other hand" spiel is all they offered. Just saying the needed improvement will "break the bank" is not good enough. Nor are all the "can't get there from here" pronouncements on time of use rates and all the other issues.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe that at least coming up with ball park figures for all these moving parts is "too hard."
It may just be a matter of finding the smart people who don't have skin in the game to do it. But then again what do I know (even after spending the last six months reading everything I can on the subject).