University of Hawaii and Hawaiian Electric Companies to develop 'green tariff' to benefit campuses and community

(Joint news release issued with University of Hawaii)

Release Date: 11/21/2017

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HONOLULU, Nov. 21, 2017 - The University of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Electric Companies have committed to collaborate on development of an innovative renewable energy initiative to help the university achieve its net-zero energy goal and bring online more cost-effective, renewable energy resources to benefit the entire state.

The initiative aims to develop a "green tariff," subject to approval by the Public Utilities Commission, for projects that would increase renewable energy generation, improve grid capacity for renewables and lower energy costs for the university. If projects identified through competitive bidding are able to provide renewable electricity at lower rates, the new green tariff would be made available to other similar institutions in the future.

"Moving to reliable and cost-effective renewable electricity is a core priority for the University of Hawaii," said UH President David Lassner. "Working collaboratively to reduce both our dependence on fossil fuels and our utility bills is an essential part of fulfilling our leadership responsibility and commitment to the future of our students, our university and Hawaii."

Jan Gouveia, UH vice president for administration, said: "The university is excited to explore a 'green tariff' as a valuable component of our energy resource plans, especially if it allows renewable energy generated at off-site university properties to serve various campus locations. The agreement to collaborate was developed by university and Hawaiian Electric representatives who met to discuss ways in which campuses could reduce their energy bills while contributing to the state's goal of replacing fossil fuels for electricity with 100 percent renewable resources by 2045."

Under the non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU), a joint university-utility working group will develop a model tariff, eligibility requirements, cost structure and other details.

"The University of Hawaii is a leading institution in our state and one of our largest customers," said Alan Oshima, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric. "Our continuing collaboration over many years has benefited our community. This latest initiative will help the university, our community, and our customers as we strive for our common clean energy goals."

The working group will evaluate sites for possible renewable energy development, concentrating first on utility-scale projects that would offset energy use at the Manoa campus. The group will also consider technologies currently on the market, such as combined solar-photovoltaic systems with energy storage, to supply cost-effective renewable energy and provide all utility customers with system-wide benefits including service reliability and resilience.

These efforts supplement the university's continuing efforts to promote energy efficiency, distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar PV, demand-response grid services, and other measures to achieve the net-zero goal. Under Act 99 (2015) the University of Hawaii has the collective goal "to become net-zero with respect to energy use, producing as much (renewable) energy as the system consumes across all campuses by January 1, 2035."

Under Act 97 (2015) the Hawaiian Electric Companies must meet a 30 percent renewable portfolio standard by 2020; 40 percent by 2030; 70 percent by 2040; and 100 percent by Dec. 31, 2045. By the end of this year, the companies expect to exceed a 27 percent RPS.