WASHINGTON: Hawaii’s long-awaited plans to import natural gas – and burn it to produce electricity – are advancing, with Japan’s largest power-generation company laying out a blueprint for development over the next five years.
Trump administration officials joined representatives of Jera Co and the state to discuss the proposal in a closed-door meeting Monday. Details of the formal proposal, including plans for a floating offshore facility to process imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as a power plant to burn the fuel, were made public Tuesday.
The effort comes as Hawaii looks to wean its power system off imported oil and lower costs in the state, where retail electricity prices generally are more than three times the national average. It also dovetails with President Donald Trump’s efforts to capitalise on what he calls American “energy dominance,” with the US producing record amounts of oil and natural gas.
Interior secretary Doug Burgum, the head of Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council, called the Hawaii plan “transformational.”
“After decades of waiting, Hawaii will finally tap into America’s abundant supply of LNG, one of the most efficient energy sources the United States has to offer.
“Adding LNG to Hawaii’s power mix will lower energy costs and strengthen the stability of the state’s power grid,” he said
The proposal is the culmination of a strategic partnership sketched out last October, when Jera and Hawaii signed a partnership to explore investments of at least US$2bil to develop LNG infrastructure in the state.
Hawaii governor Josh Green said the plan to overhaul the state’s electric grid represents “a tangible step” to move the state off its historic dependence on oil.
“We are bringing billions of dollars in new energy investments to Hawaii by securing more affordable, reliable energy for the people,” he said. — Bloomberg
