Clean Energy from the Earth, Wind and Sun

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xx

   PDF

2. Introduction: Roots, Vision, and Strategy

   • William S. Pintz, Hermina Morita

   Pages 1-14

3. Hawaii Policy Background

   • William S. Pintz, Hermina Morita

   Pages 15-34

4. Anatomy of a Strategy: Assumptions, Policies, and Initial Resource Assessments

   • William S. Pintz, Hermina Morita

   Pages 35-49

5. Negotiations: Politics, Intentions, and Institutional Capacity

   • William S. Pintz, Hermina Morita

   Pages 51-67

6. Connecting the Dots—Early Implementation of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative HCEI Electricity Goals

   • William S. Pintz, Hermina Morita

   Pages 69-91

7. Unconnected Dots—Early Implementation of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative Surface Transportation Goals

   • William S. Pintz, Hermina Morita

   Pages 93-107

8. Environmental Implications and Other Disconnects

   • William S. Pintz, Hermina Morita

   Pages 109-125

9. Years of Uncertainty and Surprise

   • William S. Pintz, Hermina Morita

   Pages 127-136

10. Taking Stock

    • William S. Pintz, Hermina Morita

    Pages 137-161

11. Back Matter

    Pages 163-175

    PDF

This book documents the socio-environmental context and early history of Hawaii's attempt to substitute renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures for oil imports. It identifies areas of policy formulation where clean energy strategies were effective and areas where the state's policy strategy was either inappropriate or constrained by political or institutional factors.

Although Hawaii's Clean Energy Initiative is a unique partnership, formulated to meet Hawaii's specific needs and resources, the policy process addressed problems that are common outside the state. While the case study involves clean energy policies, many of the issues are applicable to public policy development topics in other sectors. Examples of these "general interest" policy topics include:

• understanding how the political and socioeconomic climate may influence policy assumptions

• formulating a regulatory and legal framework for monitoring policy compliance

• designing and understanding the implications of subsidy and tax-incentive policies

• managing conflicts with policies in other sectors;

• addressing the interests of existing and future stakeholders;

• creating strategies for public consultation and information dissemination;

• using external expertise from government agencies, academic institutions and private consultants;

• designing performance and evaluation metrics for measuring progress.

The book is intended for use in graduate and senior undergraduate courses dealing with the formulation, implementation and impact of public policy. It also provides researchers involved in the development and implementation of clean energy with a guide to the hurdles likely to be encountered in moving innovation from the technical sphere to the practical real world and how to overcome them. Professional policymakers may benefit from an example of a process to create a workable clean energy policy.

• Clean Energy Policy
• Public Policy Formulation
• Energy Resource Assessment
• Green Energy Strategy
• Local Government Energy Strategy
• State Energy Strategy
• Environmental Regulatory Conflicts
• Stakeholder Energy Policy Conflicts
• Household Renewable Energy Subsidy
• Governmental Energy Subsidy
• Political Factors in Energy Strategy
• Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative

• Waimanalo, USA

  William S. Pintz

• Hanalei, Kauai, USA

  Hermina Morita

William Pintz is a resource economist who for over 30 years was involved in energy policy analysis and resource assessment. Prior to his retirement in 2012, Pintz served as a senior resource planner with Hawaiian Electric Company where he reported directly to the executive vice president on the implications of emerging public policy questions and on assessments of renewable energy resources. He served as coordinator of HECO's climate change task force and was a founding member of the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum.
Hermina Morita has been a leader in Hawaii’s energy sector for over 20 years, having served as the Chair of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) from 2011 to 2015 and as a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives, from 1996 and 2011. As the Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection for 13 years, Morita authored many of Hawaii’s most significant energy and environmental laws. Now semi-retired, Morita now works as an independent consultant on energy and environmental matters, writes a blog called Energy Dynamics and is a member on the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum, a collaboration to advance Hawaii’s clean energy transformation.

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