07-15-2012, 03:26 AM
Hawaii alternative energy needs to be a combination of solar, wind, geothermal, biofuel, waste to energy converters, and ocean power and it does need to be on a well maintained grid, at least for the near future, realistically.
Right now, HECO is still 70% imported bulk oil diesel burning electric plants. In percentages, the BI is doing very well, rapidly approaching 40% from alternative, and most importantly, local energy sources. There are some solar-only fanatics and there is some rationale in their fanaticism because there are astounding breakthroughs being made with solar PV power, not only the solar cell itself but the storage system comprised of the support structure i.e. car frame is the storage system.
There is a problem confusing biodiesel with biofuel. The media likes to make a big deal about going down to the local restaurant and collecting their used frying oil for almost nothing. Can you put that used frying oil directly in your diesel Mercedes Benz? No. It has to be distilled, consuming a lot of energy. If plant material is used, it has to be fermented first, using energy, then distilled, using more energy. So far, the cost of distillation has driven the cost of biodiesel far above the pump price, which the Navy found out it was paying $26 per gallon for clean diesel, 5 times the pump price. The OP doesn't mention it but this first time out for the Navy with a biodiesel fueled fleet is their last time (unfortunately, even this article fails to distinguish between biodiesel and biofuel):
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/05/...y-biofuel/
Senate Panel Cuts Off Navy’s Biofuel Buys
Biofuel is different from biodiesel because biofuel is incinerated directly, after gathering and grinding. The incinerators are very high efficiency, heating boilers to produce electricity. HECO tried taking eucalyptus from Hamakua over to an Oahu biofuel plant and found the transport cost made it too costly, doh! The Pepeekeo plant will take about a year and a half to convert and in the meantime, cut down eucalyptus is sitting there and going into some kind of covered storage. Things like this really add cost to the use of the *free* fuel. Local biofuel will feed the grid well over time.
The main priority is not taking local dollars (even if it is all coming out of your pocket and going into HECO's pocket) and sending them to foreign oil producers. Blueplanet did a recent analysis of Hawaii alternative energy efforts so far, mainly on the cost of the solar tax break and how many dollars were being kept local. A solar tax break of $1 is resulting in $44 staying in the local economy. Solar PV is no doubt providing stellar performance in Hawaii but Hawaii alternative energy needs all the local sources, can easily provide them and create jobs and energy independence from foreign suppliers.
Solar tax break analysis
http://blueplanetfoundation.org/renewabl...redit.html
Panasonic has solar panels providing almost 1MW from a large warehouse roof, about 130 m by 100 m:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120714a4.html
Obayashi sets up first renewable energy unit
"The company has covered a 13,000-square-meter warehouse rooftop in the town of Kumiyama, Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan, with 4,320 polycrystalline solar panels produced by Panasonic Corp. .
The system, which began operations on Sunday, has an output capacity of 982 kilowatts,"
Right now, HECO is still 70% imported bulk oil diesel burning electric plants. In percentages, the BI is doing very well, rapidly approaching 40% from alternative, and most importantly, local energy sources. There are some solar-only fanatics and there is some rationale in their fanaticism because there are astounding breakthroughs being made with solar PV power, not only the solar cell itself but the storage system comprised of the support structure i.e. car frame is the storage system.
There is a problem confusing biodiesel with biofuel. The media likes to make a big deal about going down to the local restaurant and collecting their used frying oil for almost nothing. Can you put that used frying oil directly in your diesel Mercedes Benz? No. It has to be distilled, consuming a lot of energy. If plant material is used, it has to be fermented first, using energy, then distilled, using more energy. So far, the cost of distillation has driven the cost of biodiesel far above the pump price, which the Navy found out it was paying $26 per gallon for clean diesel, 5 times the pump price. The OP doesn't mention it but this first time out for the Navy with a biodiesel fueled fleet is their last time (unfortunately, even this article fails to distinguish between biodiesel and biofuel):
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/05/...y-biofuel/
Senate Panel Cuts Off Navy’s Biofuel Buys
Biofuel is different from biodiesel because biofuel is incinerated directly, after gathering and grinding. The incinerators are very high efficiency, heating boilers to produce electricity. HECO tried taking eucalyptus from Hamakua over to an Oahu biofuel plant and found the transport cost made it too costly, doh! The Pepeekeo plant will take about a year and a half to convert and in the meantime, cut down eucalyptus is sitting there and going into some kind of covered storage. Things like this really add cost to the use of the *free* fuel. Local biofuel will feed the grid well over time.
The main priority is not taking local dollars (even if it is all coming out of your pocket and going into HECO's pocket) and sending them to foreign oil producers. Blueplanet did a recent analysis of Hawaii alternative energy efforts so far, mainly on the cost of the solar tax break and how many dollars were being kept local. A solar tax break of $1 is resulting in $44 staying in the local economy. Solar PV is no doubt providing stellar performance in Hawaii but Hawaii alternative energy needs all the local sources, can easily provide them and create jobs and energy independence from foreign suppliers.
Solar tax break analysis
http://blueplanetfoundation.org/renewabl...redit.html
Panasonic has solar panels providing almost 1MW from a large warehouse roof, about 130 m by 100 m:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120714a4.html
Obayashi sets up first renewable energy unit
"The company has covered a 13,000-square-meter warehouse rooftop in the town of Kumiyama, Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan, with 4,320 polycrystalline solar panels produced by Panasonic Corp. .
The system, which began operations on Sunday, has an output capacity of 982 kilowatts,"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*