Frequently Asked Questions

Many questions are answered in the Interisland Wind Project Fact Sheet. Click here to see it.

These are some of the most frequently asked questions. Click on the subject or question that interests you to jump to the answer. If you have additional questions, please use the comment page to ask them.

NEED
UNDERSEA CABLE
COST
PERMITS
ENVIRONMENT
BENEFITS
LANAI AND MOLOKAI
OAHU
MAUI
WIND ENERGY

Why do we need this interisland wind project?

The Interisland Cable project will allow us to develop more renewable energy across the state by moving renewable power from areas where it is abundant to areas where it is in demand. It is very important to achieving Hawaii's ambitious and critical 40% renewable portfolio standard.

Currently, Hawaii is the most oil-dependent state in the nation and, unlike other parts of the country, we depend on oil for electricity as well as ground, sea and air transportation. More than 96 percent of crude oil used in Hawaii comes from foreign sources. Oil prices hit $147 a barrel in 2008, with devastating results for Hawaii's economy. Although the price later fell, it has started to climb back up.

To ensure a future that incorporates green energy sources and to ensure energy security and price stability for our residents, we must make wise use of our statewide resources.

Where will it go? How long will it be? How big? How many undersea cables will there be?

Several options for routes between Oahu, Molokai, Lanai and Maui are being explored. Exact routes are yet to be determined and the distance will be determined by which routes or corridors are chosen.

The distance from Molokai to Oahu is about 35 miles and from Lanai to Oahu is about 70 miles. A cable system with a rating of at least 400 megawatts is likely to require at least 3 conductors (or "power lines") bundled together into a single line along each corridor of the system. Additional conductors may be needed to provide necessary reliability. Each conductor is roughly 4 inches in diameter.

Where would the cable land on Oahu, Molokai and Lanai?

Research on possible routes is still underway. Some preliminary areas have been identified as possible sites. On Molokai and Lanai, the landing site will likely be in the northeast areas of those islands, near where the wind farms are planned. On Oahu, sites on the east side in an area near the Mokapu Peninsula and on the south side in the area from Pearl Harbor to Honolulu Harbor are under consideration. It is yet to be determined which of these routes – or both – are best. Then, the EIS process will help determine the preferred landing sites.

What does a converter station look like?

A typical converter station looks like an electrical substation with enclosed buildings and fewer outdoor frames and wires. The undersea lines could be brought under the beach and underground to the converter station. From the converter station transmission lines connecting to the Oahu grid could be above or below ground.

A converter station would not need to be near the shoreline, unless industrial land is located at water's edge. The height of the converter station depends on the amount of available land. If enough land is available, perhaps five to ten acres, it could be low-rise. If space is limited, buildings could be four to eight stories in height. The overall looks would be like warehouses surrounded by a wall or fence surrounded by landscaping.

Who will own the cable? Who will operate and maintain it?

The current plan is for the State to own the cable system. The State and Hawaiian Electric are working on development of the cable system and Hawaiian Electric is expected to operate and maintain it once it is developed.

How long will it take to build?

The State has issued a request for proposals for a company or organization to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the cable. Environmental Impact Statements for the wind farms and Oahu gird upgrades will be coordinated but done separately.

After the contractor for the cable EIS is selected--in 2010--the EIS is expected to be completed in about 18 months. Construction on the actual cable system could start about three years after the EIS and permitting are complete. Construction and the laying of the cables can be done in several months. On-shore infrastructure could take longer.

Are there Hawaii-based companies capable of handling the build-out?

While there are a number of undersea communications cables in service in Hawaiian waters, at this time, we are not aware of any Hawaii-based companies with experience with this kind of undersea power cable. However, the request for proposals will be open to all bidders. There will likely be opportunities for Hawaii-based subcontractors to have roles in the laying and maintaining of the cable and associated infrastructure.

Are there similar existing projects anywhere that Hawaii can learn from?

Yes. There are more than 20 undersea transmission cables in operation around the world. There are several similar systems in Europe, the Philippines, Japan, and the mainland U.S. Many are longer and deeper than will be necessary in Hawaii. The technology is well established and there are a number of international companies able to do the work.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been leading a Technical Review Committee with some of the best expertise across the globe in this area, and they are continuing to give us extremely valuable technical advice.

In addition, there are at least nine undersea communications cables connecting the Hawaiian Islands.

How much will the interisland cable cost?

The process of estimating cost for the cable system and associated infrastructure, including a converter station at each end, is in the preliminary stages. Based on the cost of similar projects around the world, an early estimate is $800,000 to $1 billion.

The State is looking into how the cable system may be financed. It will ultimately be paid for by some combination of utility customer and taxpayer funds. The State will be seeking additional federal funding and/or long-term loan guarantees to keep the total cost under control.

The costs of the wind farms on Lanai and Molokai and the upgrades to the Oahu grid are being analyzed separately and will also be significant.

However, it is important to consider these costs in the context of what we are currently spending to meet Hawaii's energy needs with imported fossil fuel. Hawaii sends about 10 percent of its gross state product out of state each year to buy that fuel. In 2007, before oil hit $147, that amounted to about $6 billion.

Why not put the money into solar water heating and photovoltaic systems for Oahu homes and buildings instead of building the interisland wind project?

It is not "either-or."
We will need large wind projects, solar and PV, and many other renewable technologies, as well as energy efficiency and conservation, to reach our energy goals for the state.
Solar water heating is great, offsetting about 25 percent of a typical family's electric bill. But it generates NO electricity, so the remaining 75 percent must come from somewhere. Some homes, including many apartments, do not have enough roof area for such systems.
Customer-sited PV is an important renewable resource as well, particularly for some businesses and some homes, but it cannot be the only solution to Hawaii's energy needs. PV can be expensive and may have a lower energy output than other renewable resources. A PV-powered home must either have a large, costly battery system or it must get power from the grid when sunlight is not sufficient, overnight or in bad weather. (The need for batteries is not unique to small PV installations. New wind farm projects are expected in most cases to provide large-scale battery technology to offset part of their variability.)

Estimated Figures

	MW	Capacity Factor	GHw	Cost³
Wind	400MW	30%¹	1051GWh	$2.1 billion⁴
PV	480MW	25%²	1051GWh	$3.7 billion⁵

¹The capacity factor is the percentage of the electricity actually produced by a generating unit relative to what could be produced at continuous full power operation for same period of time. Note: The 30 percent capacity factor may be conservative, as above 40% may be achievable on Lanai.

²The 25 percent factor may be optimistic, as this is only achieved under the clear-sky deserts of the mainland southwest. Direct normal insolation (sunlight) available in Hawaii is less than the desert southwestern U.S. (i.e., Arizona, Nevada, Southern California)

³Includes cost for Oahu infrastructure ($300 million)

⁴ Based on $2,600 / KW for wind plant; $800M for interisland cable

⁵ Based on $7,100 / KW to install; does NOT include the cost of land (at 7 acres/MW) 3,360 acres (generally flat) needed.

What permits are needed for the interisland cable that will provide an opportunity for public input?

Click here for a list

Will there be an EIS?

Each part of the project – wind farms, undersea cable, Oahu grid upgrades – will be the subject of an environmental impact study. The four Environmental Impact Statements will be coordinated.

Are you going to segment the EIS for interisland wind?

The State of Hawaii, Hawaiian Electric Company and the developers of proposed wind farms on Lanai and Molokai have committed to do a complete and thorough environmental review of all parts of the project.

A programmatic EIS will analyze the cumulative effects of multiple actions that together make up the larger Interisland Wind project. These actions include:

(a) Generation of 400 MW of renewable wind energy: 200 MW on Lana'i and 200 MW on Moloka'i;
(b) Transmission of that electricity via undersea cable to O'ahu and possibly Maui; and
(c) Utility infrastructure upgrades on O'ahu and possibly Maui needed to integrate large amounts of variable wind energy into the electrical grids.

As a programmatic EIS covers broad impacts over a larger region, it is common for more specific activities within the larger project to prepare another EIS and/or EA that focuses on potential site-specific impacts with reference to the findings of the larger programmatic EIS. This is called "tiering," a standard practice accepted by the courts both in Hawaii and nationally.

These site-specific environmental studies by the two wind farm developers, Hawaiian Electric and Maui Electric companies and the State of Hawaii are to be tiered under the umbrella programmatic EIS for the Interisland Wind project.

We understand the importance to all communities of doing a full environmental review and anyone suggesting that the cumulative impacts of the entire Interisland Wind project and the site-specific impacts of the individual parts will not be thoroughly examined through the EIS process is incorrect.

What will the laying of the cable do to the bottom of the ocean and marine life there? What about the reefs, currents, fishing, and whales?

This will be explored as part of the EIS. Based on the experience of laying similar cables elsewhere, the impacts are brief and minimal. Laying the cable does cause some turbulence on the ocean floor and in the waters, but within days this settles and the area returns to normal. This has been the experience elsewhere.

What, if any, revenue will be realized by the State if this project is completed?

The State does not expect to generate general fund revenue from this project. Any funds collected from the cable will be used to pay for and maintain the cable itself.

How will Hawaiian Electric Company's revenue stream be impacted if this wind farm project becomes operational?

There are three primary components of the overall Interisland Wind project:

(1) Wind farms on the islands of Lanai and Molokai;
(2) An undersea cable system; and
(3) Utility transmission infrastructure on the island of Oahu.

When Hawaiian Electric buys power from an independent producer (as it would in the case of a Castle & Cooke-developed wind project on Lanai or First Wind Hawaii-developed wind project on Molokai), the utility does not make any profit on that purchased energy. The costs to buy the power are passed through to customers with no markup. In the case of the undersea cable system, it is not contemplated that Hawaiian Electric will own the cable system and therefore it will not earn any profit on capital invested by others to construct it. With approval from its regulators -- the Public Utilities Commission -- the utility is allowed to recover the costs and earn a return on any capital infrastructure it builds and owns, such as the transmission lines on Oahu, to deliver the power to customers.

Is it true this project will simply allow Oahu to continue to consume ever-increasing amounts of electricity?

Oahu does have the greatest demand among the islands but Oahu usage has actually been declining.

Over the period 2004-2008, due to a combination of many factors including aggressive conservation, weather and the economy, average electric use of Oahu residential customers fell 7.2 percent (or 51 kWh/month = 613 kWh/year).

(Maui island residential customers have cut their use by 8.5%, Lanai by 1.9%, Molokai by 11.9% and Hawaii Island by 4.2% during that same time period.)

At what point would Castle & Cooke and First Wind Hawaii realize investment tax credits?

The federal investment tax credit is only available for facilities which begin construction before December 31, 2010 and are placed in service before January 1, 2013. Otherwise, the federal credit is a production tax credit. (http://www.awea.org/legislative/pdf/Treasury_Grant_Guidance.pdf).

The state credit is an income tax credit, and can be taken by the taxpayer for the year the facility was installed and placed in service.

Has the State found investors to underwrite the cost of the cable? If so, who?

The State has spoken with several investment companies who have expressed interest in financing the interisland cable project. At this time the State has not identified an underwriter for the interisland cable project. The State plans to have the developer of the interisland cable underwrite the cost to build and install the cable as part of the Request for Proposal. The State plans to use a combination of state tax revenues, rate payer charges, and federal grants to pay for the cost of the cable.

What about community benefits for Lanai and Molokai?

This will be a critical part of the discussion. Hawaiian Electric fully supports the need for a community benefits package, but believes the process for having a full and complete discussion on that topic should take place in the right forum led by the communities involved.

On Lanai, Lanaians for Sensible Growth is leading an ongoing community visioning process that could include focus on this issue.

On Molokai, First Wind has had a number of discussions with the community on issues related to the wind farm. Various community groups are discussing Molokai's future, and community benefits could be a part of those discussions.

The Interisland Wind team respects and supports a process that begins with the communities, led by members of the communities and will let those discussions take place in the right forum at the right time.

If the Lanai wind farm project does not go forward, would the state nonetheless connect Lanai to the proposed state-wide grid?

At this time, landing an undersea cable system on Lanai is tied to the development of the proposed wind project by Castle & Cooke. Without a significant source of renewable energy located on Lanai to feed into the planned undersea cable system, the significant cost of bringing an undersea cable system could not be reasonably justified as a prudent expense.

Will it be possible for Molokai and Lanai to get electrical power from the wind farms on their islands?

There are technical challenges with incorporating power from a large, variable power facility like a 200 MW wind farm into small grids like those on Molokai and Lanai, which are each about five megawatts.

Technical reviews are underway on how to serve the Molokai and Lanai communities with increased renewable electricity while maintaining the reliability that residents and businesses require. Lanai already is receiving 400 kwh from a recently built 1.2 MW solar array.

Lanai and Molokai are being asked to help supply Oahu's growing energy demands. What measurable conservation efforts are you undertaking on Oahu?

Act 155 (2009) established both an increased renewable energy goal (40 percent of electric sales from renewables by renewable energy by 2030) and an energy efficiency goal (reduction of electricity use by 30 percent by 2030) statewide. We must succeed at both if we are to meaningfully reduce our state's dependence on imported oil.

Oahu customers have been working hard at reducing their energy use. Over the last five years, due to a combination of many factors including aggressive conservation and the economy, Oahu residential customers have cut their average electric usage by 7.2% (or 51 kWh/month for a typical residential customer).

Maui island residential customers have cut their use by 8.5%, Lanai by 1.9%, Molokai by 11.9% and Hawaii Island by 4.2% during that same time period.

Energy efficiency programs sponsored by the Hawaiian Electric Companies (Energy $olutions for the home; Energy $olutions for business) from 1996 through 2008 reduced oil consumption by approximately 3.7 million barrels. For context, 54,500 barrels or 2.2 million gallons of diesel fuel was consumed to supply all of the electricity demand on Lanai in 2008.

Hawaiian Electric has and will continue to aggressively promote energy efficiency. Among its many activities are:

Encouraging customers to install energy efficiency upgrades by taking advantage of rebates offered by the Hawaii Energy Efficiency program. The Public Utilities Commission transferred formal administration for the programs to Hawaii Energy in mid-2009, but the utilities are still very actively supporting them.
The ongoing development of many tools (e.g., Power to Save, 101 Ways to Save, Summer Cool Tips, and Energy Tips & Choices booklets) to provide easy-to-understand information to help all customers reduce their electricity use and thereby lower electric bills. These free customer tools and energy saving advice are provided at HECO in Your Community events, included in the monthly Consumer Lines newsletter, on the company's www.heco.com website, at all customer service locations and elsewhere. A free online survey at heco.com (My Home Energy Check) also provides customized energy saving recommendations for the specific household.
The company sponsors regular events, such as its annual Live Energy Lite energy fair, bringing together other utilities (The Gas Company, Honolulu Board of Water Supply, etc.) and businesses to share energy conservation, sustainability and green living information with residential customers.
Through Hawaiian Electric's Home Energy Challenge school energy conservation program, students and families compete to save energy at home and save on their bills. Educational resources and speakers are provided to all schools on Oahu to encourage students and families to conserve energy.
Assigned account managers also work with large commercial customers to help find ways to reduce their usage and control their energy costs.

But Oahu can and must do more. The State's Renewable Portfolio Standards law and the new Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard are very real requirements we must meet and it will take substantial additional conservation on Oahu to meet those mandates.

Hawaiian Electric is committed to promoting energy efficiency as well as renewable energy. All our energy planning for the future depends on the success of both efforts.

What is Oahu doing to add renewable energy on its island?

Many renewable energy projects are in the works on Oahu. Hawaiian Electric:

Recently completed a 110 MW plant at Campbell Industrial Park which will generate electricity almost entirely from cleaner, renewable biodiesel; pursuing use of renewable biofuels to power as many of our generators as possible
Is working with private companies to add wind farms on the North Shore and more waste-to-energy capability like the HPOWER plant and a 6 MW planned biomass plant.
Issued an RFP (request for proposals) for 100 MW of renewable energy for Oahu; winning bidders will be announced soon.
Hawaiian Electric also supports using cold, deep seawater to replace electricity in cooling buildings downtown and eventually Waikiki and other areas where air conditioning is a major use of electricity.

Will the proposed undersea cable system connect to Maui Island?

While there is no set timetable for an extension of an undersea cable system to the island of Maui, it is considered at this time as a second phase effort following the desired connection of the presently proposed wind projects on Molokai and Lanai.

With a later connection to Maui contemplated, the State is working to include an assessment of an undersea cable system extension to Maui in its environmental impact statement process that was announced in October.

Accordingly, the ocean floor survey work recently completed by the University of Hawaii School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology (SOEST) under contract to the State has included mapping of the ocean floor along potential route corridors for a cable system connection to Maui.

Further, technical planning work by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in conjunction with Hawaiian Electric evaluating alternative architectures for an undersea cable system between Oahu and Molokai and Lanai also includes an assessment of the cable system extending to Maui. Necessary utility system planning and integration studies will focus on the on-land infrastructure improvements and utility grid operational considerations required to interconnect Maui to the undersea cable system.

Can wind power be stored?

Development of large-scale storage for utility-scale renewable energy is still in its early stages. At present, electrical storage systems exist, but they are very expensive. Other storage methods, like pumped storage hydro, are also costly and need the right physical locations that may not be available.

Part of the discussions among Hawaiian Electric, First Wind Hawaii and Castle & Cooke will be how best to store and smooth the electricity supply to assure reliability for all customers.