By ERIN MILLER
By ERIN MILLER
Stephens Media
Before the U.S. Department of Energy can look at the environmental impact of a broad-ranging push for more renewable energy in Hawaii, federal officials want to know just what areas of alternative energy development are concerning state residents.
The DOE is hosting a series of meetings, including one at 5 p.m. Sept. 13 at Kealakehe High School, to take direction on the scope of the department’s programmatic environmental impact statement for the Hawaii Clean Energy project. A second meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Sept. 14 at Hilo High School.
“DOE’s purpose … is to support the state in its efforts to meet 70 percent of the state’s energy needs by 2030 through clean energy,” officials said on the project website, hawaiicleanenergypeis.com. The planning document will help the department “develop guidance that it would use in making future decisions on whether to fund projects or take other actions to support the state in meeting its clean energy goals.”
The meeting looks at the Hawaii Clean Energy project, the “range of reasonable alternatives” the planning document should consider and potential environmental impacts, the website said.
In January 2008, Hawaii and the DOE entered a memorandum of understanding creating a long-term partnership to change how the state plans and pursues energy efficiency and renewable energy resources. The document will look at the impacts of five clean energy categories: energy efficiency, distributed renewables, utility-scale renewables, alternative transportation fuels and modes, and electrical transmission and distribution.
The document will take a broad perspective. When individual projects are proposed, they will require more detailed and geographically focused environmental analyses, officials said.People may also request the draft document, once it is completed, or a notice of availability. The DOE will provide at least 60 days for comment on the draft document, during which time the department will conduct public hearings.