Opportunities

Kaua`i is blessed with sustainable energy opportunities in both the Transportation and Electric sectors.

In the Transportation sector, there are existing sugar plantation and other land assets on which to grow biofuel feedstocks such as jatropha and cellulose for ethanol production. Stakeholders on Kaua`i are also planning algae R&D for biofuel outputs.

The island also has some unique transportation characteristics, including limited driving distances which may be conducive to the demonstration of Electric Vehicles or Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles.

In the Electric sector, energy efficiency can be seen as the first logical investment in attaining sustainable energy goals. Homes, commercial and institutional buildings, and industrial facilities could be made more energy-efficient with efficient lighting and HVAC systems, high insulation factors, daylighting, controls and motion sensors, and efficient practices among building tenants such as cycled air conditioning as part of a demand response program.

Building codes and standards could be passed to ensure that new buildings meet strict energy utilization standards, such as those instituted by the State of California or the International Building Code.

Kauai is blessed with significant renewable, sustainable energy options including solar, hydro and biomass.

KIUC believes it can meet 50% of its supply with renewable energy over time. KIUC’s 2020 load is projected to be roughly double what it was in 1990, therefore KIUC has plans to generate 50% of its energy from carbon-neutral or non-carbon sources such as renewable energy.

A vital role of the Kauai Energy Sustainability Plan drafters is to chart a course with the County, KIUC and other stakeholders to achieve sustainable energy goals.

Barriers

There are several barriers to sustainable energy that have been identified, including:

1. Inflexible or overly restrictive environmental regulations
2. Insufficient policy support or price supports (ITC, PTC, FIT, etc.) to mitigate risk to developers
3. Siting/permitting slowdowns
4. Lack of data on best energy storage and “firming” technologies
5. Insufficient public and private investments to support the magnitude of system changes needed for a clean energy future
6. Costs have to be understood and rate structures designed to balance utilities' financial and consumers’ rate needs
7. Insufficient innovative financing (enhanced land use, ESCOs, PPAs, EE/RE mortgages, leasing, etc.) tools and options
8. Utilities compensated for increased electricity sales; pass-through of fuel price increase is renewable disincentive
9. Underdeveloped supply chain
10. Lack of awareness of costs and benefits of sustainable energy
11. Lack of skilled workforce
12. Credit crunch/weak economy
13. Cultural, social, NIMBY (Not in my back yard) sensitivities

Strategies

Kauai residents, stakeholders, Kauai Energy Sustainability Plan drafters, and many others will need to find strategic solutions to the barriers to sustainable energy development to meet the County’s goals.
Residents may want to consider other more proactive strategies such as:

1. Adopting more stringent building codes
2. Opening up doors to outside investors, e.g. from the Mainland, Asia, and Europe
3. Forming pubic/private partnerships with land owners to revitalize the agricultural economy by investing in bioenergy
4. Encouraging technology validation of PHEVs since Kauai residents typically have short driving distances
5. Training requisite work force for green jobs
6. Encouraging County, KIUC, developers, land owners to work in closer coordination on issues such as siting, permitting, and interconnect
7. Scope out high-impact energy saving opportunities such as water and wastewater, schools, hospitals, community colleges, state and county buildings, judiciary complexes
8. Encourage R&D, e.g. on algae-to-fuels, pumped hydro, PHEV, cellulosic ethanol, ocean energy, etc.
9. Utility decoupling
10. Feed-in Tariffs to provide enabling price support structures over extended periods of time which would mitigate the risk that slow or stop renewable energy development