Hawaiian
Electric Company (HECO) Press Release August 21, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press contact: HECO: Peter Rosegg, 808-543-7780, peter.rosegg@heco.com,
NRDC: Craig Noble, cnoble@nrdc.org
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nrdcinfo@nrdc.org or see our contact page
HECO and NRDC Finalize Biodiesel Purchase Policy
Plan Could Jumpstart Sustainable Agricultural Energy Industry in Hawaii
HONOLULU – Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) and the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC) today released a final policy to ensure that
Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric and Hawaii Electric Light companies
purchase only biodiesel fuel produced from locally grown sustainable
feedstocks and palm oil that complies with international standards
established by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. The utility and
the national conservation organization both said the new policy
represents a shift away from fossil fuels and toward creation of an
environmentally-friendly biofuels sector in Hawaii.
The Hawaiian Electric companies’ diesel policy is significant because
collectively they are the country’s largest utility user of petroleum
diesel. When their transition is complete, they will become the largest
user of biodiesel in the United States. Generating electricity from
sustainable biofuels instead of petroleum is beneficial because the
growing vegetation that is made into biofuel recycles carbon dioxide
instead of adding to global warming pollution.
“Hawaiian Electric’s switch to biodiesel and adoption of this
sustainable procurement policy could help lead the global transition to
more sustainable fuels,” said Ralph Cavanagh, senior attorney and
co-director of NRDC’s energy program. “It’s part of a strategy to
continue to transform these companies into a model of diverse,
sustainable supply and efficient electricity use.”
NRDC and HECO both agree that the utility system needs to continue its
acquisitions of energy-efficiency and renewable generation resources,
and view this policy as a complement, not a substitute, for them.
The HECO-NRDC biodiesel policy underwent vigorous review by a panel of
academic experts in Hawaii and California to help ensure that it
encourages development of an environmentally sustainable supply of
local biofuels feedstocks and that it protects forests and other
ecosystems at home and around the world. The policy also was discussed
at a series of public meetings on Oahu, in Hilo, Kona and Maui in June
and July.
“We heard spirited commentary at the public meetings and heard directly
from a range of individuals and organizations representing a variety of
views,” said Karl Stahlkopf, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president,
energy solutions and chief technology officer. “We listened to everyone
and made significant adjustments based on what we heard.”
As a result of this public process, the policy clarifies that in
procuring imported palm oil for conversion to biodiesel, Hawaiian
Electric will require that its suppliers and those in the supply chain
be independently audited to ensure that they:
Comply fully with all Principles and Criteria of the Roundtable on
Sustainable Palm Oil (www.rspo.org), an international organization of
over 200 members representing all aspects of the palm industry from
native peoples to processors that has worked for the past five years to
create a sustainable model of palm oil production;
Go beyond the RSPO requirements with additional baseline criteria,
including a prohibition on the conversion of any natural ecosystem for
the cultivation of biofuel feedstocks; and
Meet or exceed RSPO Principles and Criteriaprior to the first shipment
into Hawaii, not merely show good faith efforts to meet those standards
as was envisioned in the first draft.
The biodiesel policy also stipulated that the independent Biofuels
Public Trust Fund planned by Hawaiian Electric be launched by early
2008 and include Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners among the
constituencies represented on the fund’s board of directors. Hawaiian
Electric will contribute all its share of profits from a proposed
biodiesel processing facility on Maui to the fund to support research
and development to enhance Hawaii’s agricultural energy industry.
“Hawaiian Electric also made the commitment at the public meetings and
in the final policy document to provide seed funding for agricultural
research on biodiesel feedstock production in Hawaii,” Stahlkopf said.
“This research funding will not have to wait for the creation of the
Biofuels Public Trust Fund by early next year or the receipt of profits
from the BlueEarth Maui Biodiesel project, planned to be in operation
by mid-2009.”
The policy does not endorse any specific biodiesel production
facilities or power generation facilities in Hawaii. However, at
present Hawaiian Electric has upcoming projects that will be subject to
the new policy:
The company is committed to using 100 percent biofuel in its new
110-megawatt peaking unit planned to be completed by 2009 in Campbell
Industrial Park; and
A Hawaiian Electric subsidiary will partner with Blue Earth Biofuels
LLC to build a facility on Maui to supply biodiesel to Maui Electric
Company, which uses diesel for about 85 percent of its electric
production.
In each case, the company will give preference to biofuels from locally
grown feedstocks, using biodiesel from imported palm oil only until
local biodiesel becomes available.
The final policy represents a major research, development, and
deployment effort to jumpstart sustainable local production of
agricultural feedstocks for biodiesel fuel. The eight components of the
policy are: (1) local feedstock support mechanisms, (2) sourcing
requirements for palm oil, (3), baseline criteria for all biodiesel
feedstocks, (4) chain of custody tracking for feedstocks and oils, (5)
global warming pollution accounting and reporting, (6) establishment of
a Biofuels Public Trust Fund, (7) public review and notification, and
(8) public progress reporting and contingencies.
The policy states, “NRDC and Hawaiian Electric recognize that voluntary
certification is not a panacea. There are limits to the effectiveness
of voluntary certification in addressing the problems of today’s
commodity market for palm oil, in particular, and vegetable oils in
general.
“Certification must be coupled with international agreements that value
and protect forests and other biologically and carbon rich natural
ecosystems and keep certification from simply displacing demand on to
other land. NRDC and HECO are working to support the adoption of such
agreements and U.S. government support and participation in them.
“However, by enacting this policy, we will be taking the first step
towards creating a working model for sourcing sustainable palm oil. We
hope that this model sends a powerful market signal and helps to create
a foundation for the development and expansion of mandatory
sustainability standards across the marketplace.”
The “Environmental Policy for the Hawaiian Electric Company’s
Procurement of Biodiesel from Palm Oil and Locally-Grown Feedstocks,
Prepared by HECO and NRDC” can be viewed at www.nrdc.org or
www.hawaiisenergyfuture.com.
NRDC and HECO have previously collaborated on energy efficiency and
renewable energy programs, as well as on the utility’s original
Demand-Side Management programs which started in 1995.
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit
organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists
dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in
1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from
offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco
and Beijing.
Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., and its subsidiaries, Maui Electric
Company, Ltd., and Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc., provide
electricity to 95 percent of the state's 1.2 million residents on Oahu,
Maui, Hawaii, Lanai and Molokai. For more than 100 years, Hawaiian
Electric has provided the electricity that has powered the islands'
progress through its history; first as a kingdom, then a U.S. territory
and since 1959 as the 50th state.
Related Links:
Reducing Hawaii's Petroleum Dependence
http://www.nrdc.org/media/2007/070821.asp