PUC pulls plug on Oahu-Maui undersea cable

Citing changes since dockets were opened 4 years ago, two-way power cable, Lanai wind farm are shelved

The state Public Utilities Commission closed the books Tuesday on the highly charged Oahu-Maui undersea cable and the 200-megawatt Lanai wind farm projects.

The panel cited developments since it opened the dockets in July 2013, including Hawaiian Electric Co. reporting that it did not require renewable power from the Neighbor Islands to meet its needs on Oahu and a new law, Act 205, which repealed the regulatory foundation for the two-way interisland cable.

Both projects were subjects of dockets issued by the PUC as the panel considered scenarios to provide Oahu with renewable energy, possibly from the Neighbor Islands. During that period, Maui Electric Co. was curtailing, or not using, 17 percent of wind power produced, about 45.5 gigawatt hours from January to November 2013. (That total has decreased to 2.5 percent curtailment of wind power in the second quarter of this year.)

Other utility experts said that Maui could benefit from the two-way cable by tapping Oahu power plants and facilities and retiring Valley Isle generation units.

"The commission initiated this investigative proceeding to solicit information and establish whether an interisland transmission system that interconnects the Oahu and Maui island electrical grids may be in the public interest," the PUC said in Tuesday's filing.

At the same time, the PUC initiated a proceeding to review progress of Castle & Cooke Resorts Lanai Wind Project, given C&C's sale of its holdings to tech billionaire Larry Ellison about a year earlier. The docket covered "the uncertainty over Castle & Cooke Properties Inc.'s ability to develop the Lanai Wind Project" as a result of the sale, Tuesday's filing said.

Despite the sale to Ellison, C&C retained the rights to develop 200 to 400 MW of wind power. (The Kaheawa Wind Power turbines above Maalaea have a 51 MW capacity by comparison.) C&C presented a plan in 2007 to develop wind power on 7,000 acres in the northwest corner of the island, PUC documents said.

HECO had been allowed to negotiate with C&C on a power purchase agreement.

Both projects faced public opposition. At a public hearing on the undersea cable in January 2014, attended by more than 100 people, testifiers raised issues about the cost, which ranged from $626 million to $1 billion; environmental impacts from the cable; and the shipping of power off-island. The need for Neighbor Islands renewable power was undercut in August 2014 when HECO filed its "Power Supply Improvement Plan." The document said that the Oahu utility could meet its 40 percent renewable energy goal with increased wind, utility-scale solar and biofuel projects and that HECO, MECO and Hawaii Electric Light Co. "have not considered" an undersea cable "to access additional renewable resources."

"With that assertion by HECO . . . the investigation and discussion regarding 'whether an interisland transmission system that interconnects the Oahu and Maui island electrical grids may be in the public interest' has waned," the PUC said in its Tuesday filing.

The idea of shipping power to another island also was a major concern of those opposing the large wind farm on Lanai. The scale of the project and its impact on a beautiful shoreline and hunting area and cultural practices and sites were among the concerns cited.

The final nail in the coffin for the two dockets appears to be Act 205 becoming law without Gov. David Ige's signature on July 12. The measure repealed the part of state law pertaining to the interisland transmission system, Tuesday's filing said.

The Legislature specifically said that its current priorities do not include the undersea cable, the filing said.

"Based on the apparent lack of necessity, at this time, of an interisland cable, and the repeal of legislation that established the regulatory structure under which interisland undersea transmission cables could be developed, financed, and constructed, the commission finds it appropriate to close the subject document," the filing said.

The PUC cited similar reasons for closing the Lanai wind docket.

"It's the final closure to this that we have been waiting for for a long time," said Robin Kaye of Friends of Lana'i, which has been battling the wind farm.

He described the PUC docket as an attempt to see if C&C could proceed; it couldn't, Kaye said Thursday. He noted the project would not have sent any power to the island grid and threatened Lanai's "refrigerator" with active hunting grounds at the wind farm site.

The dispute had gotten "so ugly" at times but had calmed recently, especially as C&C left the scene, he added. The victory over C&C's project exemplified the power of the community.

"This is a plantation town," he said. "Speaking out created some danger there. It took some courage to stand up and speak out."

Kaye quoted cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

MECO said Thursday that the closing of the two dockets does "not affect our future energy planning for Maui County."

"We understand it's a highly sensitive issue for the communities that we serve," said MECO spokeswoman Shayna Decker, adding that the PUC "determined that each island can achieve 100 percent renewable energy without an undersea cable."

MECO currently generates about 37 percent of its power through renewable sources, which is ahead of schedule on its way to a goal of 100 percent power generation from renewables by 2045, she said.

In addition to renewable sources, MECO's plan includes incorporating energy storage and other grid technologies.

* Lee Imada can be reached at leeimada@mauinews.com.