Hawaii on track to 100% renewable by 2040
March 14, 2015
Rainbow over Koko Head Credit: Flickr - Edmund Garman
Hawaii is on track to pass legislation this year requiring the state to go 100 percent renewable by 2040.
Earlier this month, committees in the Hawaii House and Senate both unanimously recommended bills that would raise the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) from the current target of 70 percent by 2030 to the ultimate goal of 100 percent by 2040.
“Even our utility is saying we can hit 65 percent by 2030, so 100 percent is definitely doable,” Sen. Mike Gabbard (D), sponsor of the Senate bill, SB 2181, and chair of Hawaii’s Energy and Environment Committee said.
As recently six years ago, more than 90 percent of Hawaii’s yearly electricity generation came from coal and oil.
Governor George Ariyoshi advocated for the 100 percent renewable target, saying that “climate reality is everywhere: eroding coastlines, dying coral reefs, droughts, floods, extreme weather.”
