Renewable

Energy Sources

Biodiesel

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel made by a chemical reaction of alcohol and vegetable or animal oils, fats and greases. Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine in pure form or blended with petroleum diesel at any level without modification of the engine.

A Maui-based firm, Pacific Biodiesel, produces biodiesel in Hawaii from waste restaurant oils and on the Mainland from other feed stocks, including from soybeans in Texas through a partnership with singer Willie Nelson.

On Maui, the Big Island, and Oahu, biodiesel can be used in place of petroleum diesel to generate electricity in existing power plants, reducing our need to import fossil fuels. It is also used in the diesel fleets at Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric and Hawaii Electric Light companies and in two of Maui Electric Company’s generating units during start-up and shut-down operations.

Biofuels for electricity generation -- Oahu

The State Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved Hawaiian Electric Company’s plan to build the new Campbell Industrial Park Generating Station, planned to be in service by mid-2009. The PUC also confirmed an agreement between Hawaiian Electric and the Consumer Advocate to fuel this new 110-megawatt peaking plant with 100-percent, renewable biodiesel.

After a competitive bidding process, Hawaiian Electric selected Imperium Services, LLC, an affiliate of Imperium Renewables Hawaii, to supply biodiesel to fuel HECO’s plant through 2011. The contract was submitted for PUC approval in October 2007.

Hawaiian Electric Company’s preference, if a dependable supply is available, is for locally refined product from locally grown crops. The goal is to protect open space and agriculture, create jobs, and keep more of Hawaii’s spending on energy at home – in addition to reducing our use of imported fossil fuel.

Imperium has agreed to give preference in purchases to sustainably-grown Hawaii feedstocks where available for its planned Oahu biodiesel plant and to comply with the "Environmental Policy for Procurement of Biodiesel" from Palm Oil and Locally-Grown Feedstocks, developed by Hawaiian Electric and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Biofuels for electricity generation -- Maui

In February 2007, Maui Electric Company and Hawaiian Electric Company announced plans to build a biodiesel processing plant located at Waena in eastern Maui at the site of a possible future Maui Electric generating station. The plant, scheduled to be in service in 2010, will be developed and operated by BlueEarth Biofuels, LLC and would supply green, clean renewable biodiesel fuel to power Maui Electric’s diesel generators. About 85 percent of Maui Electric’s generation capacity could potentially be converted from petroleum diesel to renewable biodiesel.

As on Oahu, if a dependable supply of local feedstock is available, the goal is to use locally refined product from locally grown crops in order to protect open space and agriculture, create jobs, and keep more of Hawaii’s spending on energy at home – in addition to reducing our use of imported fossil fuel.

BlueEarth has agreed to give preference in purchasing to sustainably-grown Hawaii feedstocks where available for its planned Maui biodiesel plant and to cooperate and comply with the "Environmental Policy for Procurement of Biodiesel" from Palm Oil and Locally-Grown Feedstocks, developed and agreed to by Hawaiian Electric and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The BlueEarth Maui project is a joint venture of BlueEarth and Uluwehiokama Biofuels Corp., a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Company. The utility’s share of the profits from the Maui biodiesel processing plant will be contributed to a Biofuels Public Trust planned to support the development of an agricultural energy industry in Hawaii with grants for research, equipment and other needs.

Maui Electric Company already uses biodiesel in starting and shutting down two of its diesel generators. In the future, biodiesel may be used in existing diesel-fired units in Maui County, Hawaii Island, and Oahu. A blend of bio and fossil fuels may be used it existing fossil fuel units on Oahu and Hawaii Island.

On Maui, the HC&S plantation already burns biomass, known as sugar cane bagasse, for energy on the plantation and for sale to Maui Electric Company.

*Numbers are estimates of potential capacity from renewable energy sources.

The Future of Biodiesel

A number of experiments are underway at the Hawaii Agricultural Research Center (formerly the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association Research Center), at the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources and at the University of Hawaii at Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management to determine which biodiesel feedstocks would be best to grow in Hawaii and under what conditions.

In July 2006, Grove Farm Co., Maui Land & Pineapple Co. and Kamehameha Schools, some of the state’s largest landowners, announced the formation of Hawai'i BioEnergy, LLC to research the viability of a large-scale biofuels industry in Hawaii.

Safe Renewables Corp., a Texas-based biodiesel refining company, announced in October 2007 its intention to expand its operations to Hawaii. SRC produces a clean burning alternative fuel made from oils derived from farm crops and animal fats. In Hawaii, SRC plans to use the islands as a base to develop alternative fuel feedstock sources such as algae, which the company says could be viable by 2009.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Hawaii-based research firm HR BioPetroleum Inc. announced in December 2007 its plans for a joint venture demonstration project on the Big Island’s Kona Coast to grow and convert algae into biofuel. Algae, which grows rapidly and can be cultivated in ponds of seawater, minimizes the use of fertile land and fresh water. Although the technology to convert algae into alternate fuels has been around for years, the goal of the demonstration project is to find an inexpensive way to produce the fuel.

Ethanol

Ethanol -- a clear, colorless grain alcohol -- is also a renewable biofuel made from plant sugars. Sugar cane and sorghum are among the best feedstocks for ethanol. In the U.S., most ethanol is currently produced in corn-growing states. About 90 percent of the ethanol in the United States is mixed with gasoline at blends of 10 to 85 percent. Ethanol is already used in Hawaii due to a 2006 State mandate requiring that 85 percent of all gasoline sold must contain at least 10 percent ethanol. That is known as E10. Most engines can use E10 without modification.

While there are concerns about the environmental impacts of using a valuable food crop like corn to produce energy, studies are underway on a technique called cellulosic ethanol.

Cellulosic ethanol is a type of biofuel produced from lignocellulose, the material that comprises much of the mass of plants. Dried corn stalks and leaves, switchgrass, and wood chips are some of the more popular cellulosic materials for ethanol production. Switchgrass is the major biomass material being studied today, due to its high levels of cellulose. If successful, research into creating cellulosic ethanol could lead to a way to produce a valuable biofuel without using food crops or land best devoted to food production.

How is Ethanol Made?

Environmental impact of biofuels

Two recent studies have noted a potential negative greenhouse gas impact of certain biofuels, depending on which crops are used and how they are procured. The studies clearly make the point that there are right ways and wrong ways to pursue biofuels.

The studies primarily discuss ethanol, and in particular ethanol from corn and other food products, and note that when these crops are grown on lands converted from rainforests and other previously undisturbed ecosystems, the result can be the release of more CO2, a "carbon debt" that must be paid down over time before the value of lower CO2 from using biofuels instead of fossil fuels can result in a net CO2 benefit.

Here in Hawaii, the Hawaiian Electric utilities are currently seeking to use biodiesel – a very different biofuel from ethanol -- and the goal is to use as much as possible from feedstocks that are grown in Hawaii on agricultural land that is now fallow.

As a transition to that time, while there will be a need to import biodiesel or its feedstocks, those imports must comply with the very strict sustainable sourcing requirements developed by Hawaiian Electric in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council – one of the most respected environmental groups in the country.

In the long run, the potential of sustainable feedstocks like algae, which feeds on carbon dioxide, offers the promise of a “next generation” biodiesel that does not impact any agricultural lands. This algae-based biodiesel could supplement feedstocks grown in Hawaii by local farmers.