Reduced Energy Cost

Hawaii is unique among the states. Not only is it a group of islands hours by plane from the US mainland, it alone—unlike the Lower 48 and Alaska—has neither indigenous oil or natural gas of its own nor any pipeline connections. That leaves Hawaii with no choice but to bring in via ship whatever energy it cannot wring from the sun, the wind or the earth (as in geothermal). After decades of burning oil to generate most of its electricity and making synthetic natural gas from naphtha, the state’s electric and gas utilities are moving toward liquefied natural gas (LNG). Today, we continue our examination of the Aloha State’s energy future with a detailed look at Hawaiian Electric’s plan to quickly shift from oil to LNG.