By John King, CNN Chief National Correspondent
View Full Article via www.cnn.com
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Using alternate energy, Susan Chandler's energy bill is a third of what it was a year ago
- Hawaii's electricity rates are the highest in the country
- State law now requires new homes to use solar panels at least to heat hot water
It was an energy audit at work that first nudged Susan Chandler to think green.
"The first thing I did was change all my light bulbs" to energy-efficient models, Chandler said during a recent visit to her Honolulu home. "Then I started tracking my energy bill."
She began walking into rooms her husband and son had just left to turn off the lights. A significant cutback in the use of the clothes dryer was another step. Still, Chandler said she wanted to do more.
"So I put up the panels."
Hawaii's electricity rates are the highest in the nation. A year ago, Chandler's monthly power bill topped $100. Her most recent bill was $36.
That's a big financial plus, but what Chandler said she enjoys the most is the evidence of how she is cutting her carbon footprint.
...Hawaii already is in the early stages of what it hopes will be an energy revolution.
At the moment, imported oil accounts for 90 percent of the remote state's energy needs, a major reason its electricity costs are so high. The state's ambitious goal is to generate 70 percent of its power from clean energy sources by 2030, and it is looking everywhere.
Solar is one component. State law now requires all new homes being built in 2010, at a minimum, include a solar system for heating hot water.
Biofuels is another, including fuel derivatives from sugar cane.
Water is yet another abundant resource that Hawaii sees as part of its energy future.
"Our source is renewable -- infinitely renewable," said Tom Wilkolak, chief operating officer of Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning.
...Wind is another ample resource, though it took a spike in oil prices to the $150 a barrel range a few years ago to diminish the opposition to the 20-turbine wind farm that now sits on hillside conservation land overlooking Maui.
"That was very helpful to everyone's understanding of how important clean energy is," said Noe Kalipi, director of government and community relations for First Wind.
Some locals still don't like the nearly 200-foot high turbines, but to others they are nicknamed the "angels on the mountain."
The 20 turbines up and running have sensors that tell them to turn automatically to capture the wind in the most efficient manner. They run only part of the time because of technical issues related to Maui's electricity grid. Still, they provide power to 11,000 homes on Maui, roughly 9 percent of its power needs.
There are plans in the works to double nearly the number of turbines at the Maui location, and other wind farms are in the planning stages across the state.
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