Slashdot: Hit Hard by High Energy Costs, Hawaii Looks To the Sun

Hit Hard by High Energy Costs, Hawaii Looks To the Sun
Published on May 31, 2022 at 09:30AM
Nearly a third of Hawaii's single-family houses have rooftop solar panels -- more than twice the percentage in California -- and officials expect many more homes to add panels and batteries in the coming years. From a report: Even before energy prices surged globally this year, homeowners, elected leaders and energy executives in Hawaii had decided that rooftop solar panels were one of the best ways to meet demand for energy and tame the state's high power costs. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has only strengthened the state's embrace of renewable energy. Electricity rates in Hawaii jumped 34 percent in April from a year earlier because many of its power plants burn oil, about a third of which came from Russia last year. While Hawaii faces unique challenges, the state's reliance on solar carries lessons for other states and countries looking to fight climate change and bring down energy costs. The state has increased the use of renewable energy in large part by getting electric utilities to accept rooftop solar rather than fight it, as energy companies in California, Florida and other states have been doing. "In Hawaii, we've come to the recognition that rooftop solar is going to be an important part of our grid, has to be part of our grid," said Shelee Kimura, president and chief executive of Hawaiian Electric Company, the state's largest power provider. "Some people think we're crazy. Some people think we're pretty amazing."

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