Hawaiian Electric Industries CEO Connie Lau who oversees HECO and MECO says they are determined to go to liquified natural gas (LNG) as a “bridge fuel”.
Otherwise, if we’re apathetic, things will happen. “You have to make the effort to be educated, there needs to be meetings and people need to show up and ask questions. Irene Bowie urged residents to get involved in their energy future: We went through months and months of going to (Maui County) Council meetings, sitting as an attendee and listening to presentations and not being able to ask questions, not being able to have that interaction, so we didn’t get the true information.” “The public has no idea what this is going to cost us on Maui. King said businesses affected by Anaergia’s proposed project “were never consulted before the (project) was approved,” and several details remain unclear even a year later. Her company ceased diversions of cooking oil at the landfill once the contract was signed. The whole discussion of the undersea cable – what that might be, where it would be placed, what benefits we’d get out of it, what it would cost – all of that has been very unclear.”Īs an example of lack of transparency, King cited the Anaergia contract signed by the Mayor that is supposed to reduce amounts going into the landfill.
The community needs to feel that they are getting accurate information. While agreeing on the need for more outreach and education for the community, Bowie said private companies, including the utility, have not always been transparent even when they do present their plans to the public and this inhibits trust residents might have with utility projects in the future.
During the Maui Energy Conference, Maui-Tomorrow director, Irene Bowie and Pacific Biodiesel’s Kelly King participated in a panel discussion.