Hawaii’s largest utility has lei’d out plans to help the state source 70 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. Hawaiian Electric Co. has promised to never break ground on another coal plant (yippee!) and will convert existing fossil-fuel generators to local-crop biofuels. Just pour that piña colada in your tank, Hank! “It’s not going to be easy,” says Sen. Daniel Inouye (D), “but we must do it, because of all the 50 states in the union, our state is the most vulnerable.” Currently, 90 percent of the energy used to power all those luaus comes from imported oil and coal. Some of the schemes announced Monday lack cost estimates and are likely a while from fruition, such as a plan for undersea cables to move wind-generated power between islands. But Gov. Linda Lingle (R) promises, “These are not hopes or dreams or wishes; these are our specific plans that we hope to achieve.”
