Hawaii’s largest electricity supplier prioritized its pursuit of renewable energy over wildfire prevention, regulatory filings show.
In the wake of the devastating Maui wildfires that killed at least 111 people in Lahaina and left hundreds more unaccounted for, questions are swirling around the role the island’s major utility company played in the disaster. [emphasis, links added]
Hawaiian Electric, which provides power to 95 percent of locals, concluded during the 2019 wildfires that it needed to do more to prevent its power lines from emitting sparks.
It vowed to conduct drone surveys to identify areas vulnerable to wildfires and determine how to help keep residents and infrastructure safe.
But four years later, very little had followed and only $245,000, between 2019 and 2022, had been invested in wildfire-specific projects on the island, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing regulatory filings.
Hawaiian Electric instead focused on a push to convert to renewables after a 2008 spike in oil prices as it relies on petroleum imports for 80 percent of its energy supply.
In 2015, lawmakers passed legislation mandating that the state derive 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2045, the first such requirement in the U.S.
Hawaiian Electric revealed in 2017 that it would reach the goal five years ahead of schedule but that focus may have come at the cost of fire mitigation, according to some experts.
Their dedication to the cause has been linked to the fires and why they may face financial ruin and stare down the barrel of pending litigation.
Crews are still scouring the charred remains of the more than 2,000 burnt homes and businesses, according to Maui Police Chief John Pelletier.
‘Realize that the responders that are going out there are recovering their loved ones and members of their families,’ Pelletier said.
Though the cause of the blaze is still unclear, Hawaiian Electric is facing a bulk of the scrutiny for not shutting down power lines when high winds created dangerous fire conditions.
They’ve agreed to investigate their role and said they would cooperate with a separate probe into the fire launched by Hawaii’s attorney general last week.
‘We all believe it’s important to understand what happened. And I think we all believe it’s important to make sure it doesn’t happen again,’ Hawaiian Electric’s chief executive, Shelee Kimura said.
Hawaiian Electric also told the WSJ that routine utility work, including trimming or removing trees and upgrading, replacing, and inspecting equipment is how they kept wildfire risk at a minimum.
It said it has spent about $84 million on maintenance and tree work in Maui County since 2018.
DailyMail.com has contacted Hawaiian Electric about its current spending on renewables to date and questioned what proportion of the workforce is dedicated to reducing emissions by their 2045 goal.
In the wake of the fires, the utility was given a junk rating by S&P as stocks plunged to 49 percent.
[In one of the lawsuits,] Lahaina residents claimed Hawaiian Electric is responsible for the fires after failing to shut off power lines despite warnings from the National Weather Service that high winds could blow those lines down and spark fast-spreading wildfires.
Several reports have surfaced detailing allegations that the company’s failure to maintain its grid properly resulted in the disaster.
Videos have also surfaced on Facebook which purport to show power lines entangled with overgrown trees and vegetation.
Footage of a power line downed during a storm has also emerged in the wake of the tragedy.
A video, captured at the Maui Bird Conservation Center, near Makawao, appears to show a bright flash in the woods at the exact time ten sensors recorded a significant incident in Hawaiian Electric’s grid on August 7. …
‘This is strong confirmation — based on real data — that utility grid faults were likely the ignition source for multiple wildfires on Maui,’ Bob Marshall, the founder and CEO of Whisker Labs, told The Washington Post.
Top image via YouTube/screencap
Read rest at Mail Online
Shows what happens when you allow for ideas from the Eco-Freaks
Yes, Hawaiian Electric was negligent in not doing all they could to help mitigate fire dangers from their grid just as PG&E has been in Northern California. But the state governments in both cases are major parts of the problem with their push to force the utilities to spend precious money on unreliable energy sources (aka green or renewable energy).