Bill Text: HI SCR139 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Public Utilities Commission To Conduct A Study On The Feasibility Of Establishing Preferential Rates For Residential Properties That Are Located Near A Renewable Energy Facility.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-10 - Referred to CPH. [SCR139 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2020-SCR139-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	139
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the public utilities commission to conduct a study on the feasibility of establishing preferential rates for residential properties that are located near a renewable energy facility.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the State's dependence on imported fuel hinders the State's economy and drains the economy of billions of dollars each year; and

 

     WHEREAS, in order to decrease the State's dependence on imported fossil fuels, the Legislature enacted Act 97, Session Laws of Hawaii 2015, which requires all electric utility companies to establish a renewable energy portfolio standard of one hundred percent of its net electricity sales by 2045; and

 

     WHEREAS, as a result, the State is transitioning to various renewable energy sources as a means to expand and diversify the State's economy, environment, and security; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State has been implementing multiple projects throughout the State that utilize different sources of renewable energy in order to meet the ambitious energy goals by 2045; and

 

     WHEREAS, recently, the State has been focusing on the development of facilities relating to the renewable energy  sources of wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower; and

 

     WHEREAS, however, there is increasing opposition to the development of large, renewable energy facilities near residential properties; and

 

     WHEREAS, while renewable energy facilities are a valuable source of renewable energy, there are many unintended consequences that raise concerns with residents who would be in close proximity to a renewable energy facility; and

 

     WHEREAS, residential communities that are near a renewable energy facility are often subject to various negative effects, including excessive noise levels and possible health concerns; and

 

     WHEREAS, residential communities near a renewable energy facility are often burdened by being close to the facilities, yet seldom receive direct benefits that offset the potential risks of living near a renewable energy facility; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Public Utilities Commission is requested to conduct a study on the feasibility of establishing preferential rates for residential properties that are located near a renewable energy facility; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting the study, the Public Utilities Commission is requested to look at possible rate structures and an appropriate radius of residential properties in relation to a renewable energy facility; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chair of the Public Utilities Commission.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Public Utilities Commission; Renewable Energy Facility; Study; Preferential Rates