Hawaii’s electric utility rates are already the highest in the nation — by a large margin — and SB 2510 is likely to push them up even higher.

This bill, which was recently passed by the Legislature, mandates that one-third of all electricity on each island generated by utilities from renewable energy sources must be from “firm renewable energy.”

The problem is that “firm renewable energy” is, in many cases, more costly than other forms of renewable energy, especially in Maui County.

“Firm renewable energy,” is defined by SB 2510 as uninterruptible renewable energy, although some forms of it are subject to disruption.

Perhaps the most common form of “firm renewable energy” is biomass, which includes the burning of trees. Excluded from “firm renewable energy” are photovoltaic and wind, which are the most common forms of renewable energy in Hawaii.

Hawaiian Electric uses renewable energy to generate half of Maui County’s electricity, and most of it is photovoltaic and wind. Virtually none of the renewable energy generated in Maui County is “firm renewable energy.” Therein lies the problem.

To comply with the one-third mandate of SB 2510, Hawaiian Electric may have to shut down its wind and photovoltaic units until it builds “firm renewable energy” generation facilities.

That would likely disrupt the distribution of electricity to Hawaiian Electric’s Maui County customers. It would also likely increase the cost of generating electricity, and those increased costs would be passed on to consumers in the form of higher electricity rates.

Gov. David Ige should veto SB 2510.

Douglas J. Hagan

Paia