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 Low cost, reliable electrical generation is what all consumers want. This county needs a flexible generation system to meet our future needs. Currently 90% of electricity used in the state is supplied from oil. The State has mandated that we need to decrease our oil dependency to 30%, by the year 2030. To do this we need to use more Geothermal, Solar, Wave and Wind generation.
The word reliable merits some discussion: 1) Utilities, nationwide, may prefer to have more small generating units, which present less of a challenge to the grid if one shuts down. This same option should be considered when planning new generation; and 2) The variability in energy output of solar and wind generators needs to be balanced via adequate storage or back-up fossil-based generators as discussed below.
Consider that solar generation peaks between ~8 AM, and ends ~4 PM. This is good in decreasing the oil fired base electric load, during this time frame. The daily base load peaks from ~4 PM thru ~10 PM, when we come home and turn electric components on. This peak in electric use is universal across our country; and costs the most per installed kilowatt (kW). Typically the utility uses the generator that can most easily be output-modulated but may not be themost efficient generation equipment to supply this peak electric load. Why? Because the utility uses the most efficient generation equipment 24/7. The peak in our county is ~10%, more than the base load. After 10 PM load drops significantly, which forces the electrical generating units to either back off generation or shutdown until early the next morning.
Example: If we shifted to enough wind [and/or solar] generators to supply 50% of our needs, then our dependency on oil would decrease. So what happens when we have light and variable winds [cloudy]? 50% of the homes go dark? No, the utility has to have the means to attend to this “intermittency” issue. In some cases, the utility would have this capacity sitting idle. These electrical generating units all have mortgage payments, usually paid for from making electricity. In any case, we the rate payers would pay for the wind generation AND pay for the idle generating units. Poor planning would get us into this predicament. The answer to more renewable generation [wind and solar] is the need to address the intermittency issues up front. There are a number of ways to address intermittency, at some minimum cost to the rate payers. Pumped Hydro storage, large batteries, and/or producing hydrogen during off generation hours, are means of meeting the intermittency issues. On a sunny/windy day, these solar- and wind-based sources would decrease the peak generation needs.
More geothermal? Yes. But there are limits that must be considered. We live in an earthquake and lava flow zone. The consideration is, how do we get reliable generation, 24/7, if we have to account for the loss on any one or two of our power supplies? Much easier and cheaper to do with more diversified and small generating units. There are several areas around the island that are being investigated for geothermal potential.
The state has finally passed a law which stops the utility from having to pay Independent Power Producers [IPP] the same $/kWh as the cost of oil-generated energy (kWh). The cost of future generation contracts should save all of us money [HELCO only owns ~27% of the generation supply for the county].
Foot Note: Our energy future is complicated to say the least. Just imagine the task of reliably operating distributed generation (fossil and renewable) and storage systems; hybrid cars, plug-in-hybrids, fuel cell cars, smart grid, etc. All these and more elements of our future electric energy system are at various stages of development and implementation. Some may take the better part of 10 years for full implementation, until infrastructure and supplies bring their cost down to competitive levels.
John Deveau
Kona Palisades, HI
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