Finally! OTEC Is First on List of Hawaii Renewables, But Blind Spot Persists About Technology’s Promise

We had begun to wonder whether ocean thermal energy conversion would ever get its due on a local editorial page, but it’s finally happened. Futurist Jim Dator and energy consultant Manfred Zapka listed OTEC first as they ticked off renewable energy resources available in the 50th State in the last part of a three-part Honolulu Advertiser series.

That may not mean much to most readers, but we’ve been complaining since the early days of this blog that OTEC has been the forgotten resource when editors and other journalists write about Hawaii’s alternatives to oil.

Not to be overly sensitive on the point, but as recently as two days ago, an editorial writer focused only on wave energy when mentioning the recent U.S. Department of Energy’s funding of a National Renewable Marine Energy Center in Hawaii. Here’s what the DOE’s press release said:

"National Renewable Marine Energy Center in Hawaii will facilitate the development and implementation of commercial wave energy systems and to assist the private sector in moving ocean thermal energy conversion systems beyond proof-of-concept to pre-commercialization, long-term testing."

OTEC was the meatiest part of that paragraph for several reasons: First, long-time OTEC watchers know the DOE turned its back on the technology more than a decade ago when it ended OTEC funding. For it to be back in the OTEC game is a significant shift. Second, OTEC would be baseload power, unlike just about all the other renewables that get attention, including wave power, so it has greater potential to actually replace oil.

What the Media Have Missed

And third, when combined with Hawaiian Electric Company’s recent statements about the importance of “set-asides” for the ocean energy technologies, it seems obvious to us that OTEC is hotter than it’s been for decades. Robbie Alm’s comments at the August meeting of the Hawaii Venture Capital Association – as yet un-reported by the local media - deserve repeating:

“We need to have (projects) get on our system, so we have a strong preference for technology that’s proven. At the same time, we are going to create specific room for new technology. We talked to the PUC about this, and they are strongly supportive of it, so we do intend to have set-asides to allow, for example, the ocean people to come to Hawaii. They have not had either the federal or the state tax support, public support that wind and solar have had. And so to some degree, we need to give the ocean resources a special opportunity to be successful in Hawaii. If we do that, they’ll come here. If they come here, we all benefit by that.”

That’s quotable stuff, right? We’re not making too much of this, wouldn’t you agree? One would think these comments and HECO’s overall approach to ocean resources might be picked up by an attentive reporter – but not yet.

The Age of OTEC

It seems obvious to us that signs point to the beginning of the OTEC age in Hawaii – maybe not with an announcement of some kind this quarter (although we can hope), but soon. Contributors Dator and Zapka at least brought the technology to the fore on the editorial page. Now let’s see if working journalists can pick up the signs and recognize that OTEC offers the best hope for Hawaii to get off oil.

Sustainability Seen as Competitive Advantage Key

Sustainability may be a 14 letter, six syllable off-putting word, but it can be fun as well as profitable for any corporation that commits to sustainability as a way of doing business, according to Judah Schiller, today’s breakfast speaker at the California Bar Association meeting (at right following his talk). 

A no-longer-practicing attorney, Schiller (whose business card is about three-quarter size) is executive vice-president of Saatchi & Saatchi S, a consultancy within the international advertising agency. S stands for you know what, and to hear Schiller tell it, any business without a sustainability officer is losing its competitive advantage.

Schiller’s been called “corporate America’s go-to greening guy” and is in demand for his success stories in working with major corporations to help them infuse sustainability in their operations. Another focus of Saatchi & Saatchi S are individual consumers who can be motivated to make better choices among the vast array of products available to them.

Hawaii as Client?

Corporate employees who commit to a Personal Sustainability Project can transform themselves while supporting their companies, said Schiller. Wal-Mart’s 1.5 million employees collectively have 200,000 pounds of weight loss among them, as well as 19,000 former smokers thanks to personal commitments to enhance their own sustainability.

During the Q&A, we noted that Hawaii has fewer citizens than Wal-Mart has employees and asked if Saatchi & Saatchi S has ever taken on an entire state as a client. Schiller said it was an interesting question (Ad Man Translation: sounds like a good idea) and mentioned the Tennessee Valley Authority and the City of Chicago as government entities his firm has supported.

With its economy headed into the tank, Hawaii could use some help from a global advertising/sustainability agency. Schiller’s speaking schedule suggests he has more than a few frequent flyer miles to chew through. Given some background on Hawaii’s potential to be a renewable energy and sustainability model (see Blue Planet Foundation), maybe he’ll use them to check us out. “Saatchi & Saatchi S Honolulu” has a nice ring to it.

CA Attorneys Hear Compelling Case to Preserve Sea

We’re taking a break from Hawaii's ongoing dismal economic news --- well-established restaurants closing, double-digit tourism declines --- for a weekend in Monterey, CA with the California Bar Association’s convention. The featured speaker after today’s lunch was National Geographic “Explorer-in-Residence” Dr. Sylvia A. Earle (at right after today’s talk), whose presentation on global climate change’s impact on the sea also included her gentle chastisement of the human species for pillaging ocean life for our dining pleasure.

Earle has spent 6,000 hours below the ocean’s surface and says she doesn’t eat seafood for fear she might recognize a face. Just as humans’ features are unique, fish and animals in the ocean differ from one another, too, she says. Some fish species’ numbers have declined more than 90 percent in recent years, a trend she warns is unsustainable. “Can you imagine feeding the planet with song birds and furry little things?” she asked, which in effect is the scope of what we’re doing with seafood.

Working the OTEC Angle

Anyone remotely connected with ocean research and preservation knows about Earle, whose whimsical "titles" include “Her Deepness” and “The Sturgeon General” thanks to her remarkable career of ocean exploration. We managed a few minutes with her before her talk and mentioned a mutual acquaintance with whom Earle has worked – Charlotte Vick, formerly of Honolulu and now a Texas resident.

Earle knows Hawaii well and seemed genuinely interested in ocean thermal energy conversion “developments” in Hawaii, such as they are, agreeing that OTEC could significantly reduce the Aloha State’s un-aloha-like carbon contribution to the planet’s atmosphere.

The California lawyers gave her a standing O and a warm sendoff as she prepares for meetings tomorrow in Washington, where officials are dealing with another kind of climate change and endangerment.

High Oil Costs Prompt ‘Restless Sea’ Power Progress

The ups and downs in the price of oil leave more than a few of us wondering what’s coming next and scratching our heads about “confluences” and “reinterpretations” (see post immediately below).

Fortunately, as reported in today's New York Times, research and development continues in alternatives to oil, such as the ocean energy technologies, the focus of this blog.

Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) receives only passing treatment in this story compared to wave and current power, but it’s there nevertheless. Hawaii will have a role in OTEC's commercialization, so as they say, as long as they spell it right, any news about OTEC is good news.

Note: The Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism invites you to participate in its energy survey, accessible at its home page.

Hope You Enjoyed Two-Week Era of ‘Cheap Oil’; Crude Price Leaps $25 in Biggest One-Day Jump

9/23 Update: Oil price falls today almost as much as yesterday's gain, which reportedly was caused by "a confluence of one-off circumstances and a re-interpretation of supply and demand issues."  That clears it up.

When oil slipped to $91.50 last Tuesday, we’re sure we weren’t alone in wondering how long the decline could this last before commodity traders said enough is enough.

“Enough” was today. Starting the day around $104/barrel, oil futures surged to $130 before dropping to nearly $121, “a record jump of $16.37,” according to the New York Times.

Today’s increase made up for almost 30 percent of the decline from July’s high of $147.27….and just as we started to get used to the modest decline in gas prices.

A-B-O

Anything But Oil is once again the mantra in Hawaii, the nation’s most oil-dependent state, where it’s burned to generate 78 percent of the state’s electricity. Today’s “anything” is wood chips from eucalyptus trees grown and harvested on the island of Hawaii, as described in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

The project’s backers must be counting on good growing conditions if they’re prepared to invest “close to $200 million” in their operation. Of course, wood burning has been around as a “technology” since our distant ancestors accidentally started the first forest fire.

We wish these entrepreneurs good luck with their project, which seems to be sized right for the Big Island, but satisfying the electrical demand of Oahu with wood chips could devour entire forests in no time flat.

We therefore hope for some good news about ocean thermal energy conversion from Hawaiian Electric one of these months. OTEC presumably would qualify for the “set-asides” that HECO recently mentioned for ocean energy technologies.

Since the tropical Pacific Ocean would be OTEC's inexhaustible energy source, plugging in sooner than later to that source would be just about the best A-B-O news we could imagine.

DOE Awards Millions for Ocean Energy Research; Univ. of Hawaii To Assist OTEC Commercialization

The pieces of the ocean energy puzzle continue to come together, and today’s news makes the picture even more compelling when combined with recent developments. The US Department of Energy today announced funding for what it calls “water power projects” to include $1 million a year for 5 years to the University of Hawaii, along with more than a dozen other projects according to this news item at SustainableBusiness.com:

"National Renewable Marine Energy Center in Hawaii will facilitate the development and implementation of commercial wave energy systems and to assist the private sector in moving ocean thermal energy conversion systems beyond proof-of-concept to pre-commercialization, long-term testing."

This is good news indeed from the DOE, which has gained a reputation in the past decade (deserved or not) of not being supportive of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC).

Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii had this reaction in today’s Honolulu Advertiser:

"Surrounded by water and dependent on imported oil, Hawaii can and should be a leader in harnessing alternative energy from the ocean."

That’s a familiar refrain showing signs of gaining widespread currency and determination in these islands.

• News Item:  At the time of this post, the per-barrel price of oil has increased more than 10 percent this week.  

Oil Price’s $50 Fall Can’t Be Ignored Any Longer, Just As Rise to Nearly $150/Barrel Isn’t Forgotten

We’ve put off writing about the two-month slide in the price of oil from its high around $146 per barrel in mid-July. Our predictions in early summer that oil was on its way to $200 look pretty weak now that the price is below half that.

But what goes down must go up in a world with shrinking oil supplies and increasing demand. Some things don’t go down at all with the oil price, as the Wall Street Journal points out today.

Fuel surcharges and baggage charges implemented by the airlines aren’t likely to be eliminated, and that’s bad news for a Hawaii economy already rocked on every side. “This year in the worst” says one Waikiki small-business operator in a Honolulu Advertiser story next to the page one news of the continuing Wall Street meltdown.

Wanted: Good News!

With tourism down, revenues down and spirits down, what this state needs is a dose of good news. Our prediction record isn’t worth a darn lately, but we’ll go ahead and predict that a major renewable energy story will break in the islands before the end of the year. As a long-time supporter of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), we’d like to think the news will be about that technology, and maybe there’s hope. Hawaiian Electric’s recent welcoming public statements about ocean energy presumably weren’t made off the cuff, so stay tuned for what could be page one news of a happier kind than what we all saw today.

Lanai’s Energy Plans Featured on HOT SEAT; We Manage To Prompt Short Q&A Dialogue on OTEC

Castle & Cooke’s Harry Saunders was on the Advertiser’s HOT SEAT a few days ago, the focus being the company’s plans to build a 400 megawatt wind farm on the island of Lanai at a cost of $1 billion, according to today's redacted transcript of the session.

Curiously, there’s no mention in the summary of the one thing necessary to make such a large investment pay off -- an undersea electrical cable to transmit the energy to Oahu and the other islands in the chain. Even the complete Q&A exchange in the original HOT SEAT post fails to mention the cable issue except for one fleeting reference in the editor’s introduction to the session.

That’s a hole big enough for an oil tanker’s passage. We sought to plug another one (from our perspective) about Lanai’s energy planning by asking Saunders why C&C’s leadership has shown little interest in ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) to help the island eliminate fossil fuels from its energy mix –- something we’ve proposed several times at this blog, including here and here:

Comma`aina: Harry, I'm surprised Mr. Murdock hasn't shown any interest in being an ocean thermal energy conversion pioneer and blazing new (water) trails with OTEC. The technology could provide vast amounts of potable water for Lanai and, sitting a few miles off the island, would have no on-land impacts. Recent comments by Hawaiian Electric officials seem to encourage ocean energy providers to come to Hawaii. Lanai could be a perfect fit and a fossil-fuel-free island using OTEC-supplied energy for electricity and to replace gasoline for vehicles. And Mr. Murdock's legacy would be remarkably good.

Saunders: In April of this year, Castle & Cooke, MECO and the U.S. Department of Energy joined forces to develop alternative energy options for the island of Lanai. The ultimate goal, established in a memorandum of understanding, is to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity and transportation on the island. In the near term, the parties will be working to generate 70 percent of Lana'i's electricity from renewable energy sources, which could include OTEC. At this time, we are waiting for U.S. Department of Energy analysis of best resources to use to get to 100 percent renewable energy generation.

The caution here is that the U.S. DOE has shown little interest in OTEC for more than a decade and seems stuck in the old paradigm when low-cost oil made OTEC an unrealistic option. It also doesn’t sound like David Murdock’s usual SOP to rely on a government agency for guidance on what to do next.

To be fossil-fuel-free, Lanai will need a baseload source of power such as OTEC or a way to store energy (not yet economic) from intermittent power sources – the solar farm now under construction and the wind farm C&C wants to build.

We suggest Castle & Cooke take note of Hawaiian Electric’s recent encouraging words about ocean energy technology and do more than wait for a DOE analysis on how to make its little island in the Pacific a renewable energy model and magnet for energy industry and eco-visitors who would fill Mr. Murdock’s two money-losing resorts there.

Pick An Island—Any Island—& Energy Concerns Are Nearly the Same: We All Need To Get Off Oil ASAP

As I write this, oil prices have slipped somewhat from the recent highs. Nonetheless, now more than ever, we in the Pacific need to focus on development of renewable energy sources and improved energy efficiency….

There clearly is potential—think of the wave and OTEC energy that could be derived from our vast ocean resources, but that remains virtually untouched.

The key energy problem we face in the region is a consequence of putting all our eggs in just one basket: that of expensive and polluting fossil fuel.

Clearly, we need to look at alternatives but it’s important that we don’t view renewable energy as just a “quick fix” for high prices but rather as the foundation of our future energy policies. We all know that a fossil fuel energy path is not sustainable. Regardless of where prices go from now in the current crisis, we need to invest in renewables now to better deal with the many crises in petroleum markets that invariably will come.

Those paragraphs might have been written by any renewable energy advocate here in Hawaii, but they’re by Asterio Takesy, director at Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Samoa. Mr. Takesy’s comments, which appeared in a recent online edition of “Islands Business” that is published by Fiji-based Islands Business International, remind us that the Pacific islands, although thousands of miles apart in the largest ocean on Earth, have a common concern bordering on a crisis mentality -- our overwhelming dependence on external sources of energy.

The common denominator among Pacific islanders is our isolation, and with isolation come high energy costs due to extremely long transportation links and the islands' poor purchasing leverage. This year’s high energy prices even moved the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) to declare a “State of Economic Emergency” due to what it calls food and energy crises.

OTEC’s Potential

One gets a sense in reading publications from the South and West Pacific that governments are desperate for solutions and eager to tap into the stored energy in the tropical ocean around them. From the RMI’s Update Report on its declared emergency:

“OTEC potential being watched by RMI. The RMI is actively exploring and discussing the potential use of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology as an energy source in the RMI over the medium to long-term (as the technology continues to expand and develop). Discussions with key OTEC firms and the US are ongoing.”

Hawaii has its share of hopeful OTEC watchers, too, as suggested by the big spike in hits to this blog after HECO’s “set-aside” comments regarding ocean energy technologies two weeks ago (and subsequently expanded in another post a few days later).

In solidarity with our Marshall Island neighbors and with appreciation for their concerns, we reprint here the RMI's invitation for assistance in addressing the islands' food and energy crises:

Development partners who are interested in supporting the RMI with any of these projects (or who have other ideas for cooperation) are more than welcomed. The official contact person is the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Kino Kabua. Email kino.kabua@ntamar.net, telephone (692) 625-3181/3012, fax (692) 625-4979.

Often Overlooked Biofuel Energy Draws Attention

Having once written headlines and edited copy for a living, we admit to having a chuckle when reading the headline over a Honolulu Advertiser story today: “Future of Hawaii renewable energy projects uncertain”

Leave out everything between “Future” and “uncertain” and you pretty much sum up the human condition. Or drop “ocean thermal energy conversion” into the space between those words and you reach the same conclusion.

So much is unclear about energy in this isolated state. How will renewable energy projects be integrated into the electricity grids? What will the Public Utilities Commission do to the whole regulatory picture to encourage that integration? What will the price of oil be in five years? (Many of these issues were discussed thoroughly at the Hawaii Venture Capital Association's August meeting, about which we had much to say last week.)

Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO) on the Big Island has legitimate concerns about accommodating three new biofuel projects. As the story notes:

“The problem is HELCO now has 265 megawatts of firm generating capacity on an island with peak power demand of only about 200 megawatts…. It isn’t clear that the utility needs the electricity from the two larger biomass projects, which together want to produce 54 megawatts of power.”

Getting Off Oil

And there’s the rub. HELCO and its sister utilities have sufficient generation capacity to meet their needs; that’s Rule #1 inside the utility industry. If they come up 1 megawatt short of meeting demand, chaos ensues.

But the vast majority of that capacity is fired by fuel oil, which is responsible for 78 percent of the electricity generation in the state. Virtually everyone agrees that has to change, but it isn’t going to happen overnight and it won’t happen without systemic change in how the utilities are regulated and compensated.

We wish the three biofuel projects good luck in working out the thorny details, and we’ll be waiting for some encouraging headlines that emphasize clarity when those deals are done.

Hawaii's Economy Bent Low by High Energy Costs

It’s probably time to bump Hawaiian Electric’s Robbie Alm down the page a bit now that a week has gone by since we initially effused over his ocean energy set-aside comments at the Hawaii Venture Capital Association. We won’t stop thinking about them, though, and what his quotes may presage regarding an announcement from HECO one of these days. It’s only a matter of time before an ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plant is built in the islands, and HECO could be positioning itself and the community for just that day. We hope the waiting is almost over.

Less sanguine is the continuing decline of Hawaii’s economy, a condition that's been evident for months.  Today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports on a survey of business attitudes about the economy, including the prediction by 63 percent of those surveyed that things will be even worse next year.

Ending on an Upbeat

Jeff Mikulina, who has headed the Hawaii Chapter of The Sierra Club for a decade, will join the Blue Planet Foundation as its executive director late this month. Wisconsin native Mikulina, who is the media's go-to guy on the environment, will guide the day-to-day operations of BPF, which entrepreneur Henk Rogers founded last year. BPF’s mission is to change the planet’s energy culture – starting in Hawaii.

Hercules and the Augean Stables come to mind, but despite the enormity of the challenge, we think they can do it – with a little help from their friends, including some who occupy offices at HECO!

More and Better Quotes on HECO’s Set-Asides Intended to Attract Ocean Technologies to Hawaii

We couldn’t contain our enthusiasm last week after hearing Hawaiian Electric Company executive vice president Robbie Alm (at right) say “set-asides” for ocean technology will be part of HECO’s future energy mix. If that’s old news to some of you, we apologize, but it was the first time we heard such welcoming comments about ocean energy from the utility. Just to be sure we had it right, we went to the Hawaii Venture Capital Association website and viewed the video. Here are the pertinent quotes:

“We need to have (projects) get on our system, so we have a strong preference for technology that’s proven. At the same time, we are going to create specific room for new technology. We talked to the PUC about this, and they are strongly supportive of it, so we do intend to have set-asides to allow, for example, the ocean people to come to Hawaii. They have not had either the federal or the state tax support, public support that wind and solar have had. And so to some degree, we need to give the ocean resources a special opportunity to be successful in Hawaii. If we do that, they’ll come here. If they come here, we all benefit by that.”

That’s enough to make ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) enthusiasts start emailing one another and visiting this website (our Site Meter count is way up since last week). Here’s more from Alm’s speech:

“The bottom line for us, and I think all the speakers said it today, is we have to find a way to make all of this work. We have to find a way for people to want to invest money. We have to find a way to make the rules simple enough and straightforward enough. We have to make a system where the incentives line up to the right place. The right place is off oil. The right place is Hawaii-based energy. The right place is to keep that money in our economy.”

“Hawaii is going to lead the world in the switch away from oil. Hawaii is absolutely going to be the place that finds the way to do this business in a way that makes sense for the private sector, for the public sector and for the utility. And I think everybody involved here is absolutely committed to making that happen.”

The HVCA luncheon was packed last week, and the association anticipates an overflow crowd on September 25th when entrepreneur and philanthropist Henk Rogers of the Blue Planet Foundation addresses the group. Anybody intending to be there had best submit a reservation soon.

Lanai, Nukes & More from the HVCA Energy Forum

We’ll make this multi-topic post short so our previous one doesn’t slide down and off your computer screen (please read it). Both the Star-Bulletin and Advertiser have had stories this weekend on local concerns about David Murdock’s proposed big windfarm on the island of Lanai ("Corky" captures the mood in his S-B cartoon, right). The stories are an excuse to reprise our earlier comments on OTEC’s potential for Lanai (1, 2, 3 and 4).

Our enthusiasm continues over HECO’s statements on ocean technology set-asides delivered last week at the HVCA. The group tapes its programs; click here to watch the August 28th meeting (listed as 8/31) -- especially Robbie Alm’s comments near the end. Finally, nuclear power raised its (ugly) head again in a Star-Bulletin letter yesterday. In the spirit of Labor Day, we’ll let our earlier comments suffice on that renewable energy. Enjoy the holiday.

HECO Commits to Set-Asides for Ocean Power; HVCA Audience Hears Straight Talk from Utility

Like the guy in the 1980s TV commercial who said, “I liked the shaver so much, I bought the company,” we liked the Hawaii Venture Capital Association’s (HVCA) meeting so much today we joined the group. Thank goodness no venture capital investment is required. An overflow crowd estimated at 150 filled the Plaza Club’s meeting room in downtown Honolulu for the second meeting in HVCA’s Renewable Energy Series. (The September 25th speaker will be Henk Rogers, founder of the Blue Planet Foundation, whose mission is: “To change our world’s energy culture.")

While scribbling notes, we wondered how we’d choose which of the panelists would lead today’s blog entry. Excellent contributions were made by each of the first three speakers – Warren Bollmeier, president of the Hawaii Renewable Energy Alliance; Bill Parks, on loan to the State of Hawaii from the U.S. Department of Energy, and Erik Kvam, CEO of Zero Emissions Leasing, LLC, a renewable energy entrepreneur. But then came Robbie Alm, executive vice president of Hawaiian Electric Company, and the choice was easy.

This blog began on March 14, 2008 to call attention to the most-overlooked renewable energy in our state, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), and we made that point again as recently as one week ago. So to hear Alm make an unambiguous endorsement for ocean power in his remarks today was enough to give us – as we say in the islands – chicken skin.

We won’t put quote marks around Alm’s comments because we didn’t catch every single word, but near the end of his talk, he said something pretty close to this:

We (the utility) have a strong preference for proven technologies in purchase power agreements, but we will create room for set-asides for the ocean people to come to Hawaii. To some degree, we need to give the ocean technologies a special reason to come to Hawaii. If they do, we’ll all benefit.

For a moment, we could imagine what Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) might have felt when President Bush endorsed a massive commitment to ethanol a couple State of the Union speeches ago.

OK, so maybe we shouldn’t expect an announcement about HECO signing a contract with an OTEC developer next week, but that was the most ringing endorsement of OTEC and other ocean-based power systems we’ve ever heard from a HECO spokesperson. And more power to them (pun intended).

Patience Recommended

Alm concluded his prepared remarks by telling the assembled would-be energy producers that he can’t promise them an easy field to play in over the next years. Patience will be required as everyone works through numerous as-yet unresolved issues. His ending:

Hawaii will lead the world in the switch off oil. Hawaii will be the place where it happens. We’re all committed to making that our reality.

Quote or not, those are encouraging words from Hawaii’s dominant utility for supporters of OTEC and other renewable energy options.

We’ll post additional comments by Alm and the other panelists in the days ahead. For now, Hawaii Energy Options will leave it at:

HECO, we like your spirit!

Massive Blind Spot in Energy Planning Persists: Two Teams Needed Who Will Kick Off the OTEC Game

We begin by applauding the sentiments in today’s Honolulu Advertiser’s only editorial, “Let’s keep state focus on renewable energy.” It concludes:

“Now more than ever, Hawaii must take its place on the renewable-energy vanguard. And voters need to see that their leaders keep an eye on this important prize.”

We couldn’t agree more – and yet….there’s always something, isn’t there? We hate to quibble with a newspaper that agrees Hawaii must reduce its dependence on fossil fuel ASAP, but the Advertiser gives the appearance of missing a key point about the whole renewable energy picture.

What About Baseload Energy?

That point, of course, is ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). Today’s editorial lists Hawaii’s green energy resources:

“The Islands’ ample potential in solar, wind, wave and geothermal energy make this a worthwhile campaign.” Flash back to the paper’s March 16 editorial, which included the same familiar list:

“Now the state needs to see that the money is used wisely to tap the Islands’ reservoir of power – from the wind, waves, geothermal and, of course, the sun.”

We noted then and again now that OTEC is still missing from the Advertiser’s mix of renewable resources, and the omission is glaring. OTEC will be a baseload energy source, available 24/7. Geothermal is also baseload, of course, but it’s confined to the Big Island. Cultural and environmental considerations blocked further development of geothermal in the 1980s, and they probably remain impediments to further build-out. (Biomass, another potential 24/7 baseload source, also seems off the editorial writers' radar.)

So unlike most of the other resources on the Advertiser's list, OTEC has the potential for widespread development as baseload energy in the islands. Yet here we are, still waiting for a breakthrough in finding customer #1 for this technology, the Catch 22 in the OTEC equation.

Cheering from the Sidelines

With football season about to start, we OTEC supporters feel like fans sitting in the grandstands, all fired up and eager for OTEC’s kickoff. Only problem is, the two teams have yet to take the field.

One would be an OTEC developer armed with a long-term downfield vision but also prepared with a modest ground game for now. At first, Team OTEC would run Woody Hayes’s game plan – “four yards and a cloud of dust” -- knowing that a small plant could open the game up for worldwide expansion once OTEC is proven in our tropical environment.

The other team is Customer #1 – most likely Hawaiian Electric Company, which has an RFP out for 100 megawatts of renewable energy. It’s an all-comer RFP, so OTEC could supply some of that total with a small starter plant to prove the technology.

Wanted: Captains Courageous

As today’s Advertiser suggests, the grandstands are filled with cheering supporters hurt by their staggering dependence on imported oil more than residents of any other state. With the average electric rate in the state nearly three times the national average, the point is beyond debate.

The teams in this game are still in the locker room. They need to take the field, led by two courageous captains who will meet at the 50 yard line in the glare of publicity, shake hands and prepare for kickoff.

The teams that could play this game to a win-win conclusion are already well known. Hawaii can’t afford to delay the start of its OTEC era. So in the spirit of the moment, we say:

“Let’s go OTEC!”

Oil Dips to $111/Barrel; This Is Where We Came In!

Wow! What a relief!! Oil has fallen about $35/barrel since it’s high point a month ago, and everybody's absolutely giddy over our “good fortune.”

Wait a minute. $111/barrel was the price when we started this blog – a level so unbelievably high we were moved to start blogging about Hawaii’s severe energy problem and renewable options, primarily ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC).

This is what it feels like to be played like a violin – manipulated into feeling $111/barrel oil is “cheap.” It seems obvious now the manipulators simply overplayed their hand and approached $150 too quickly.

We don't do economic forecasting, but we’ll venture a WA-guess this is nothing more than a lull influenced by a modest reduction in miles driven and nervousness among the “maniputraders.”

World demand will escalate, supply will shrink and prices will blow past $150 before long. The imperative to replace fossil fuel as Hawaii’s energy source with solar photovoltaics, OTEC, wind, biofuels and the rest is as strong as ever. Enjoy the “cheap oil” while it lasts.

Hawaii Description as ‘Foreign and Exotic’ Place Shows What State Could Face in an Energy Crisis

Senator Barack Obama vacations in his home state and it’s treated like a campaign gaffe, seeing as how the state is so “foreign and exotic,” according to ABC’s Cokie Roberts. Hawaii’s in a snit, of course, and our junior Senator distributed a press release with the “BREAKING” news that America became a 50-state nation 49 years ago.

Moving beyond this flapdoodle, Roberts’ comment suggests where Hawaii might rank in the scheme of things when the next energy crisis hits the fan. This “foreign and exotic” outpost could well be lost in the shuffle to satisfy the petroleum fix of good solid Americans – folks like Roberts’ fellow Loosianans.

All the more reason to make the most of “5 minutes with Obama” (see below).

The Obama Connection: Hawaii Welcomes its Favorite Son as Trade Winds Make a Point

(For an idealized view of what the Obama Administration might mean for Hawaii's renewable energy industry, click here.)
Search engines, do your stuff: Obama, Hawaii, solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), oil dependence, vulnerable. That should do it.

Senator Barack Obama (aka Barry to some folks here) is in town during a week of strong trade winds, and Hawaii Energy Options may never have a better chance to snare some attention for Hawaii’s bid to be a renewable energy model.

The Honolulu Advertiser does its part today for the Senator’s Sunday morning reading by summarizing the state’s renewable alternatives as it highlights wind energy development around the state. Wind is said to already supply 9 percent of Maui’s electricity, with more on the way. The hills behind Kahuku on Oahu’s north shore are targeted for two farms that would put a slight dent in the island’s oil dependency. But every little bit helps, right?

Which gives us yet another opportunity to tout OTEC as the energy game-changer for the islands. The tropical ocean around Hawaii has all the stored energy the island chain needs to replace fossil fuel generation for electric power. (If you’re new to island energy issues and know nothing about OTEC, thanks for visiting and please study up. Google’s a big asset, and we’ve posted a good deal here about OTEC, since it's why we started the blog in the first place.)

Obama Talk Story

Here’s what we’d discuss with the born-and-raised-here presidential candidate if we had a few moments of his time:

• Federal energy programs and top-down pressure to eliminate oil as a fuel to generate electricity in the United States by the end of your second term in 2016 would be a spectacular achievement for your Administration – both for oil dependency and climate change issues.

• It’s an achievable goal, the accomplishment of which would position one of the states – your home state – as a model for aggressive renewable energy development for the planet.

• Hawaii is the nation’s most oil-dependent state and generates 78 percent of its electricity by burning the high-priced import, according to the Advertiser story. (This blog previously pegged it at 77.2 percent.)

• Hawaii can’t wait until 2030 to achieve 70-percent reliance on renewables for its energy needs. That’s the target set by Republican administrations in Washington and Honolulu in the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. The goal is too conservative, Senator, and the imperative to get off oil here is too great to be satisfied with it.

• America needs an exportable technological expertise to offset her diminishing stature in the field. OTEC can be the bridge to a hydrogen economy, as well as a source of electricity and fresh water for the planet’s most isolated society, your beloved Hawaii, and populations elsewhere in desperate need of energy and water.

We could go on, but we’d have only enough time to get out that much. We wish the Senator an enjoyable vacation here, with some energy education thrown in.

Energy for Lanai

A column in the Advertiser today written by Lanai residents asks the “what’s in it for me” question regarding David Murdock’s ambitious plan to build a 300-megawatt Windfarm on their island and ship the power via undersea cable to Oahu.

It’s worth reading – and so, we suggeest, are the Lanai-related early posts to this blog when we suggested OTEC could be the key to Lanai becoming a truly green, fossil-fuel-free island within a few short years.

Among the residents’ concerns is the potential loss of a large chunk of their island to the Murdock project. A floating OTEC plant with underwater transmission cables to Lanai would have no land impact as it supplied electricity for all the island’s needs (think plug-in vehicles), as well as vast quantities of fresh water each day that would be piped ashore.

First Lanai, then Hawaii, then the nation, and then…… Welcome home to the possibilities, Senator.

Suddenly, Nuke Power Talk Is Everywhere -- from the Presidential Campaign to Downtown Honolulu

The suitcases are back in the closet, and we have to be content with our memories of cool breezes and fog along the California Coast. On average, it’s about 20 degrees hotter on any given day in Honolulu than Monterey, and if it weren’t for the strong trades this week, our homecoming would have been exceptionally uncomfortable. 

We heard the early edition of NPR’s “All Things Considered” yesterday on the way to a meeting in downtown Honolulu and listened somewhat dismissively to a report on Senator McCain’s strong support of nuclear energy. It sounded like campaign rhetoric, delivered as it was at a Michigan nuclear power plant, with little relevance to Hawaii.

But not 10 minutes later, right there on Alakea Street, we ran into a Hawaii state senator (not of McCain’s party) whose first words practically were to enthusiastically tout nuke power for Hawaii! We couldn’t believe it and decided then and there to make this issue the subject of our first post-vacation post to Hawaii Energy Options.

The Most Expensive Option

We only had time to read Freedom from Mideast Oil while flying to and from California, and the chapter we just finished before arriving home was titled “Nuclear Power: A Mistake in Search of a Mission.” Citing numerous detailed reasons, the authors conclude: “The upside to nuclear power is minimal; the downside is potentially disastrous.” (page 189)  Another bomb:

“After decades of subsidies, nuclear power still remains the most expensive and non-competitive way of generating electricity…. The real challenge facing nuclear power becomes clear when ‘life cycle’ production costs are compared, including construction, operations, maintenance, fuel, decommissioning, and waste storage.” (page 170)

We immediately mentioned this book to the senator, and he claimed to have read it and to have met at least one of its authors – which leads us to wonder what possible application he sees for nuclear power in Hawaii. Politically, it’s a non-starter, but beyond the near impossibility that it could be introduced here, nuclear energy makes no sense in these islands.

So while we tend to be apolitical here at Hawaii Energy Options, it's pretty obvious all this rhetoric about off-shore drilling and nuclear power is simply pandering during election season.  Voters would do well to remind our would-be leaders that both technologies are fraught with too many negatives to number.  Tell them this nation needs a massive development project for renewable energy technologies, not more of the same polluting and destructive options that will dump a host of problems on our grandchildren's doorsteps.

Laying Down a Footprint During Travel Time

Our excuse for letting nine days go by without a post is twofold: Al Gore’s speech on July 17th was compelling, so our post on it lingered, and secondarily, distractions for a mainland trip got in the way. 

Other travelers include Governor Lingle, who’s on a federal government-sponsored trip; she’s in Colorado today for workshops on renewable energy.

Recommended reading for our trip and anyone else concerned about the nation’s and Hawaii’s energy issues is Freedom from Mid-East Oil by Jerry B. Brown, James A. Cusumano and Rinaldo S. Brutoco, whom we met in May at Blue Planet Foundation chief Henk Rogers’ ranch on the Big Island. From the back cover:

“Imagine a world in which America won its freedom from Mid-East oil. We can build that world within 10 years with existing technology and no new taxes.

"Imagine a world in which America resolved to overcome the energy-climate change crisis that threatens its national security. We can build that world today with informed choices and political will.

"Imagine a book with a roadmap for fighting global warming and ending America’s dangerous dependence on imported oil. This is that book!”

It’s a page-turner for those whose vision includes a fossil-fuel-free Hawaii.

Gore Challenge to Cut Reliance on 'Carbon Power' Is Tailor-Made for Hawaii’s Push to Get Off Oil

Could Al Gore be more in tune with Hawaii’s energy goals and issues? 

His address today on the nation’s urgent requirement to Get Off Oil perfectly matches what Hawaii’s government leaders (Governor Lingle), entrepreneurs (Henk Rogers and his Blue Planet Foundation), UH's SOEST and just about everybody else have been saying for years.

His remarks today address more than climate control and the environment and hit hard on national security issues, warning of “climate refugees” and the country’s dangerous vulnerability due to its reliance on foreign oil.

(NOTE: New York Times reporter Andrew Revkin, who attended April’s Blue Planet Summit on Oahu, has provided an annotated version of Gore’s energy speech in the Times. Watch a video of the speech here.)

Most Vulnerable Hawaii

Said Gore: “The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk.” Drop Hawaii into that sentence and you capture the Aloha State’s gloomy predicament even now. No state is perched more dangerously on the oil bubble than Hawaii, which is massively dependent on oil for just about all of its energy requirements, including jet fuel – the mother’s milk of the tourism industry.

Media coverage of the former Vice President’s address is bound to be massive, and only the most philosophically resistant are likely to discount his assessment (as they always do).

Gore’s preference to tax sources of emissions will catch the attention of Hawaii’s congressional delegation, and one member in particular was instrumental in the 1970s in exempting Hawaii from the Congress-imposed mandate for power plants to convert from fuel oil to coal and natural gas. Hawaii is 77 percent reliance on oil for its electricity generation, and a tax on what we burn to produce it would have a severe impact.

Once Again, it’s OTEC

Gore’s focus on the threat to our country is all the more reason to accelerate Hawaii’s transition to renewable energy – especially base load sources of power. The options here are few for 24/7 base load energy, and we again suggest that ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) will be Hawaii’s ultimate energy game-changer.

Those who see Hawaii as the renewable energy model for the country and then the world would do well to enlist Gore in that long-term vision. No one speaks with greater authority in America or has wider reach on these issues than Al Gore. 

Hawaii’s aggressive energy goals will be more attainable with his enthusiastic support and the emotional lift he can provide.  Attracting his attention should be high on the to-do list.

Algae Schmalgae; if it’ll Replace Oil, WE'RE FOR IT!

We don’t know Thing One about algae; frankly, we feel a little squeamish around the stuff and wonder what happens if you get some on you. Surely someone more comfortable with algae like Jan TenBruggencate and his Raising Islands blog will weigh in on the news that a new biofuel facility will be built on Maui, displacing oil as soon as 2011.

Our simple test when reading these announcements is whether a project will reduce Hawaii’s dependence on imported fossil fuel. This will, so we’re in the cheering section here on the sidelines.

Now when it comes to other forms of renewable energy like ocean thermal energy conversion, we grab a flag and march out there in front of the band along with the ROTC color guard (something we actually did a thousand years ago).

We try not to let more than two posts go by without mentioning OTEC, which was the original inspiration for this blog right from its start. So in addition to algae, we hope you’ll consider what OTEC could do for this island state, which is 92 percent dependent on fossil fuel for its energy and 77 percent on oil for electricity generation.

The price of oil may have fallen more than $6/barrel today, but it’s not a trend. Put your money on OTEC -- along with algae, of course.

Plug-ins Touted for Hawaii’s Transition Off Oil

Advertiser Columnist Jay Fidell makes a strong case in his "Think Tech" piece today for the adoption of electric plug-in vehicles – including the high-powered Tesla Roadster (right). We’ll keep this post short and recommend Fidell’s column for everyone concerned about Hawaii’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Letter to Oilman Pickens: ‘Look to Hawaii for Significant Impact in Reducing Oil Dependence’

We listened with fascination yesterday to NPR’s report on oilman T. Boone Pickens and his plan to develop the world’s largest windfarm in the Texas panhandle – 4,000 megawatts of clean juice.

Now comes friend Bob Smith – recently of Hawaii but returning to his Texas home next week – with the online link to the Pickens Plan. We encourage clicking on it for some renewable energy inspiration.

First, you have to hand it to Mr. Pickens; he looks as cool and comfortable giving a seminar on the downside of fossil fuel use as Al Gore. This 80-year-old legend in his own time is moving too fast to let any moss grow, and on the Internet at that.

Next, hooray for this oilman's clear declaration on what importing petroleum is doing to our country. When he speaks, industries listen, and he’s speaking now about developing America’s abundant wind energy potential in the heartland.

Thinking Outside the Continent

Now, all we need to do is “ride the horse the direction it’s going,” as someone we know used to say. Mr. Pickens is already riding hard toward a renewable energy future, so here’s our hope:

T. Boone Pickens will discover that Hawaii is 92 percent dependent on imported oil for our energy, including a whopping 77 percent for the state’s electricity generation. Wind, solar, geothermal, coal and a smidgen of hydro power make up the rest of our power generation, but oil is the big contributor.

Hawaii is arguably closer to becoming 100-percent fossil fuel free among the states for one reason – the tropical ocean in which this fleet of islands is anchored. If Mr. Pickens were to write another renewable energy equation using ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) power out here in Hawaii instead of wind, we could be on our way to eliminating fossil fuel use in the Aloha State.

OK, not in this decade or the next, but by 2030 we could be getting close, maybe even surpassing the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative goal to be 70 percent reliant on renewable energy by then.

What’s with the Waco Connection?

We’re curious why this blog has been visited dozens of times in recent days by computers using the Baylor.edu domain. We’re happy you’re here and invite you to clue us in on this sudden interest in Hawaii Energy Options. Please leave a Comment below or send an email to doug@commaaina.com. Mahalo.

Hawaii’s Changing Demand Side Use Highlighted as Consumers React to ‘Breathtaking’ $350 Power Bill

The Honolulu Advertiser delves into how Hawaii’s electrical energy consumers are adjusting to the new reality of $140+/barrel oil. Eliminating “phantom loads” by unplugging electronics when they’re not needed, switching to CFL bulbs and other tactics are trimming both kilowatthours and dollars from bills.

Elsewhere, analysts are assessing the pause in the spiraling oil price increase, with some suggesting the market’s just taking a breather before pressing on to the $150 “barrier,” which isn’t.  Hawaii consumers are looking for more than a "breather." How about Time Out!?

Adding to our apprehension is the latest news about what's happening to the ocean around us.  The Star-Bulletin has a story on research by University of Hawaii scientists that's reported in the July 4th issue of Science magazine.  It makes us wish we had done more for the planet over the long holiday weekend....

Editorial Cartoonists Capture Spirit of Hawaii’s 4th

Hawaiian Electric's rate increase request is both papers' top page-one story (here and here). They must have wanted the exposure, 'cause it sure looks like they timed it that way.

We’re in an Energy Crisis, but Installing Hundreds of Megawatts of Intermittent Power Won’t Solve It; Murdock Calls It Emergency, Marshall Islands Act

Lanai owner David Murdock is in town and attracting page-one treatment in the Honolulu Advertiser by asking the Governor to declare an energy emergency in Hawaii. Others have been saying the same thing (including this blog), but when you’re one of the world’s richest men, you get more ink than the rest of us for some reason.

Murdock specifically wants to fast track his proposed 400-megawatt wind farm on Lanai and send most of its output to Oahu via undersea cable. Others are chiming in about whether suspending regulations is a smart thing to do.

Our point is that without a capability to store lots of energy, a wind farm won’t “solve” Hawaii’s dependence on fossil fuel. The wind won’t always blow, and the sun won't always shine (he also has a solar farm under development).

As we’ve pointed out on numerous occasions (first here, then here), Lanai is surrounded by the world’s largest energy collector – a tropical ocean. Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) could be put to excellent use on Murdock’s island paradise for eventual expansion around the state and the world.

Murdock obviously is passionate about Hawaii’s energy crisis; you can hear and see it in an online video post next to the Advertiser story. But if he is so attuned to the state’s energy problem, we have to wonder why he rejects OTEC out of hand.

That’s what we hear – that if he can’t own it, he’s not interested in it, and he apparently isn’t interested in owning an off-shore OTEC project. That’s a shame because OTEC is increasingly seen as a long term, big picture “solution” to energy, global warming and hunger issues because of its ability to manufacture electricity, hydrogen and pure water using the inexhaustible supply of solar energy stored in the ocean.

If anyone out there has influence with David Murdock, please talk to him about OTEC. We’ve tried going through his subordinates without success.

About those Future Bills

Finally, it would be good to know just how much energy cost relief Murdock has in mind for Lanai and Oahu. A kilowatthour costs 44 cents on Lanai, among the highest rates in the country, and about 25 cents with a bullet on Oahu. If exemption from existing rules and regulations to speed his energy projects is being requested, we at least should know what kind of a break we’re supposed to get thanks to Murdock Power.

Wind farms and undersea cables don’t come on the cheap, and we have to believe Murdock’s not willing to lose money on the venture. So as just about everybody says these days:

“What’s in it for me?”

The Honolulu Advertiser asked a different question of the Governor and State Legislature in today's editorial: "What is your plan?" Here's yet another: Why not hold an energy summit with the US Department of Energy, the State, private sources like Murdock and sustainability advocates like the Sierra Club and the Blue Planet Foundation? Get everybody in the same room and hammer out an updated plan that takes $145/barrel oil into account.

Remember late January? That's when the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative was launched -- back when oil cost less than $100/barrel. Murdock, the Advertiser, Maurice Kaya and the rest of us are right: This is a train-wreck crisis that requires even bolder action than anything we've yet seen. What indeed is the plan?

And Deeper into the Pacific...

The Marshall Islands has declared a state of economic emergency due to the rising cost of energy. Now, that's taking action!

Can OTEC Save the Earth and End World Hunger?

That’s a fascinating prospect outlined in a new article in Renewable Energy World.com. Naval architect Christopher Barry goes beyond energy production to examine ocean thermal energy conversion’s (OTEC) potential to sequester carbon, reverse carbon’s effects on global warming and manufacture fertilizers to enhance agriculture.

As Barry notes, this potential isn’t without potential unintended consequences that need to be addressed. But as the price of oil hovers above $140/barrel (the tracker at right may seem obsessive, but it focuses the mind), OTEC deserves all the attention it can get. (Keep $143.67 in mind as you watch the graph; that was the all-time high reached on June 30.)

Hawaii Is First State to Require Solar Water Heating In New Homes; Oil Rises to Yet Another Record

• June 29 Update: Star-Bulletin editorial chimes in.
Organizations that believe Hawaii can be a renewable energy role model for the nation – the Sierra Club and the Blue Planet Foundation are among them – have cause to celebrate today following Governor Linda Lingle’s signature on legislation mandating solar water heaters on new homes here beginning in 2010.

And just to show that the perfect can be the enemy of the good, the Star-Bulletin covers the story from a different perspective. Lingle’s press release points out some flaws, but on balance, this is a good-news story that’s being covered by the national and international media.

As for perspective, oil rose today to a record 142.99 per barrel, which isn’t far from the $150 level that we speculated back in April might be reached in June.

With each bump in oil’s price, Hawaii tourism shudders. State officials now worry that the current downturn could be worse than what followed 9/11/01, when streets seemed nearly empty during what should have been the high season.

That prediction is all the more reason to applaud the Governor’s decision to enact the solar heater mandate, flaws and all, as an important step in reducing and eventually eliminating Hawaii’s dependence on oil.

Leaving “Lease-Gate” Behind for Some Travel

• June 26 Update: Oil price passes $140, a new record.
The more things change, the more they don’t. Our last word for now on the lease of a fuel-inefficient (12 mpg) SUV for Governor Linda Lingle’s use takes us back to December 2002, when the new Governor was deciding what to drive.

A Star-Bulletin story noted then that Governor Ben Cayetano had been criticized for selecting a 1999 Lincoln Navigator (above) for his official vehicle because of its fuel inefficiency -- only 12 miles a gallon. (Now, that’s ironic!)

Lingle said she wouldn’t use Cayetano’s Navigator, and her communications director explained: “She is simple in her tastes, not flashy. The material things just don’t interest her. I would call her low-maintenance.”

Maybe the Governor’s tastes haven’t changed, but her staff hasn’t done her any favors by selecting a luxury sport SUV, the Infinity QX56. With the average price of regular gas in Hawaii at $4.40 a gallon, the Governor would have set a positive example in the fight to reduce Hawaii’s dependence on oil had she selected a hybrid vehicle, as Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann has. Instead, the Administration has defended its selection because the Infinity costs less than the hybrid allegedly under consideration.

Maybe “Lease-Gate” will blow over as the Administration begins an austerity program, but let’s hope other opportunities for on-the-street leadership in the fight to get off oil won’t be passed over so easily.