Energy and the Environment

Along with the impact from skyrocketing gasoline prices, Hawaii households are also hit with a broad range of price increases for daily needs. One of the biggest impacts has been an 84.2% increase in each household's total annual electricity bill, on the island of Oahu; an 89.2% increase for the islands of Kauai and Maui; and on the Big Island, the increase was 76.6%. Not only does each individual bear the increased cost of energy, but in 2008 our State Government had to request $1 million in emergency funds from the Legislature in order to meet increased electricity costs. Consumption has not increased. It is the price of the energy that has increased.

Representative Thielen with Dr. Peter Kalish of Oceanlinx and David Weaver, President and CEO of Oceanlinx. View video.

The enormous increase in energy costs comes at a time when lawmakers and the governor have focused attention on developing Hawaii's renewable-energy resources, such as wind, wave, solar and thermal power, to reduce the state's dependence on imported oil, which now supplies 92% of its energy needs. During my 20 year legal career and 18 years in the Hawaii House of Representatives, I have fought for sound environmental policies together with methods to reduce our dependency on fossil fuel. Hawaii uses more imported oil than any state in the nation, and half of that oil comes from the volatile Middle East. Yet we have the most abundant supply of clean, natural renewable sources of energy: wind, wave and solar.

Renewable energy is the only hope for our Islands. We must reduce the use of fossil fuel and provide incentives for development of renewable energy. Dollars from the U.S. going to the Middle East can end up being used to fund terrorist attacks. We need to play smart, not just to reverse global warming, but to preserve democracy. The safety of our nation's future lies in renewable energy.

For many years, I have promoted wave energy as a viable alternative to our dependence on fossil fuels for the creation of energy. Hawaii is the best place in the world for spearheading wave energy conversion, as our State has a consistent wave climate.

Wave energy compares favorably to other renewables because it is more available and more predictable. For example, unlike solar energy, wave power is available 24/7. Wave energy provides 25% higher conversion efficiency versus wind. The EPRI (US based Electric Power Research Institute) was quoted as saying, "The natural processes of the ocean provide a denser, more concentrated form of energy than either wind or solar." Moreover, only 0.2% of the ocean's total wave energy is needed to provide sufficient power to the entire world! Therefore, the introduction of alternative energy creation, like wave energy, to our islands is crucial to all the citizens of Hawaii.

The movement toward alternative energy is now a reality. I encouraged a leading company to bring its technology to Hawaii. Oceanlinx will install two Wave Energy converters off the coast of Maui in 2009. Oceanlinx is a leading international company in the field of wave energy conversion. It has developed proprietary technology for extracting energy from ocean waves and converting it into electricity, or utilizing that energy to provide desalinated industrial or potable grade water from sea water. The Maui project will not address Oahu's energy needs; however it is a step in the right direction for all of us in Hawaii. A new dawn is breaking for Hawaii, catch the wave!

Representative Cynthia Thielen • State Capitol, Room 443 • 415 South Beretania Street • Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 • Phone: (808) 586-6480