Due to high demand, the Maui Solar Summit has changed locations from the college to the Castle Theater at the MACC. The hours are extended from 11:00am-1:30pm. A sandwich lunch by the Maui Culinary Academy will be available in the courtyard at 11:00am subsidized by the county for only $5. The blessing will start promptly at 11:30am. Please arrive early to get your seat.
Energy
Utilities vs. rooftop solar: What the fight is about
(Photo courtesy Rising Sun Solar)
The conflict between electric utilities and distributed energy— mainly rooftop solar panels — is heating up.
David Roberts takes a look at the fight over utilities who don’t want to take more rooftop solar – a subject that is hot in Hawaii, where folks are being charged $3000 for “interconnection studies” and being denied the opportunity to install PV.
Sierra Club – Working for YOU
The state of Hawaii has passed a first-of-its kind clean-energy financing measure that will make it easy for residents of the Aloha State to go green and install clean energy, while saving some green at the same time. The Sierra Club and a coalition of environmental and labor groups championed the measure, which will reduce the upfront costs of solar energy and energy-efficiency for residents and small businesses.
Nat’l Biodiesel Board’s Life Cycle Paper
In May of 1998, the US Department of Energy (DOE) and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the results of the Biodiesel Lifecycle Inventory Study. It compared findings for a comprehensive “cradle to grave” inventory of materials used; energy resources consumed; and air, water and solid waste emissions generated by petroleum diesel fuels and biodiesel in order to compare the total “lifecycle” costs and benefits of each of the fuels. This 3.5-year study followed US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and private industry-approved protocols for conducting this type of research. Below is a summary of the study.
EIS for Ulupalakua Geothermal Lease at Library
Makawao Public Library has just received for public review: Environmental Impact Statement Preparation Notice. Ulupalakua Geothermal Mining Lease and Geothermal Resource Subzone Modification Application Public comments are due: March 27, 2012 Makawao Public Library 573-8785
Stephanie Fried Biodiesel Testimony
Testimony of Stephanie Fried, PhD Testimony of Stephanie Fried, Ph.D. Environmental Defense OPPOSING HB 1718 HD1 relating to special purpose revenue bonds for BlueEarth Maui Biodiesel, LLC, for construction of a biodiesel refinery on Maui. FRIDAY, March 30, 2007 3:00 P.M. Conference Room 308 Aloha Representatives Oshiro, Lee, and Finance Committee Members I am enclosing some information on the palm oil which will likely be used in the proposed “biodiesel” plant. HECO announced its intention … Read more
Biodiesel
Key conditions for sustainable Biodiesel: Use waste and byproducts or locally grown feedstock that doesn’t displace rain forests Decentralize – small plants using local feedstock and selling locally Biofuel LifeCycle Paper Sierra Club National Biomass Policy Sierra Club National Ethanol Policy Biodiesel Crop Implementation in Hawaii (pdf) Dr. Stephanie Fried Testimony (Lots of info and links) Cruel Oil: How Palm Oil Harms Health, Rainforest and Wildlife (pdf) If we want to save the environment, we … Read more