State PUC blocks biofuels deal

[Guest]

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Originally posted by Rob Tucker

It is interesting how the NIMBY stuff works everywhere. Solar arrays proposed for the Mojave and Owens Valley have the locals protesting and insisting the projects should go elsewhere. Seems most everyone wants the energy as long as it is produced in someone else's back yard.

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Solar energy can be produced in most back yards.

[Midnight Rambler]

quote:

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Originally posted by Justin

I can't speak to the specifics of this particular plan, but in general I'm against bio-fuels, particularly here in Hawaii. Reason being, after traveling to areas that make a lot of biofuels (Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia), it's really replacing taking one scarce resource (fossil fuels) with taking another scarce resource (native rainforests). Most if not all of the biofuels are grown in areas where native rainforests are cut down to plant crops (corn, soy, oil palms) that are used for biofuel. Well, I'd prefer to take oil out of the desert than trees out of the rainforest, particularly so in Hawaii where the rainforest is so small.

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Perhaps you should speak about this particular plan then. It involves using the old sugarcane land in Kau to grow grass to process the cellulose into biodiesel. It's a relatively new technology (and from the sound of it probably consumes a fair bit of energy itself), which is probably why it's so expensive compared to oil.

[bluesboy]

perhaps the basis of the proposal was the price of oil will be more than $200/barrel within the next 20 years?

seems like a gamble - potentially at the cost of the taxpayers, which the PUC didn't want to sign up for.

[kalakoa]

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The contract guaranteed that HELCO would purchase all of their oil at $200/barrel for 20 years regardless of the market value of that oil.

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What an awesome deal ... for everyone except the actual ratepayers.

Off-grid is "too expensive" for what now?

[Seeb]

with the value of land in Hawaii i think the only bio mass/fuel would be economical some thing like albizia ,make a deal with land owners" we'll take them away for free" otherwise imported whatever will be cheaper