Lingle-Aiona Initiatives 2008, recently published in the Honolulu Advertiser are available on-line using this link. This post relates to the Energy for tomorrow, one of 14 initiative areas contained in the document. Some initiatives are recycled or continued from prior years. Stay tuned to see how the bills/initiatives progress.

Energy for tomorrow – BED-12(08)/HB3064/SB2986 creating special tax credit for taxpayers with less that $20K AGI who install solar water heater or other renewable energy system. This would result in refund from the state for those with no tax liability; creates new Energy Division within DBEDT funded with $1.6million for four positions in governor’s FY2009 budget; calls for establishment of Chair in power generation and distribution at UH college of engineering, setting aside $2 million for funding to be matched by private sources; clarifies that the public benefits fund created in 2006 to encourage energy conservation not be subjected to legislative fund raids and managed outside the state treasury; and bill to expand the definition of renewable energy producer to include growers and producers of organic materials used primarily for production of biofuels or other fuels (no bill number).

The Honolulu Advertiser, 1/18/08 p C7 reported 5.244 megawatts of wind power generation installed in 2007, accounting for 30% of all new electricity-generating capacity. Note that this was done at a tax credit cost of a 2 cents per kilowatt hour of energy produced (around $100K), which lowered the development costs to the same level as coal-fired plants.

At this time the tax credit has not been extended past the end of 2008, but it seems likely it will be.

Currently wind power represents just less than 1% of all power generated in the United States according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Read the article by clicking here