STAND. COM. REP. NO. 36

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 715

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 715 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RENEWABLE STANDARDS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Increase the renewable portfolio standards for electric utilities to seventy percent by 2035 and one hundred percent by 2040; and

 

     (2)  Establish renewable energy standards for new large self-generators.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Hawaii Renewable Energy Alliance; Blue Planet Foundation; Hawaii Solar Energy Association; SunEdison; Mehta Tech, Inc.; and eighty-five individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Starwood Hawaii and one individual.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Division of Consumer Advocacy; Public Utilities Commission; Hawaiian Electric; and Life of the Land.

 

     Your Committee finds that Hawaii's dependency on imported fuel hinders the State's economy.  A stronger local economy depends on a transition away from imported fuels and toward renewable local resources that provide a source of affordable energy.  Updating and extending Hawaii's clean energy initiative and renewable standards will benefit Hawaii's economy by ensuring that Hawaii moves beyond its dependence on imported fuels and continues to grow a local renewable energy industry.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Amending the definition of "large self-generator" to only include persons or entities that begin ownership or operation after July 1, 2015; and

 

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 715, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 715, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy and Environment,

 

 

 

____________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair