Ige's energy vision

Gov. David Ige laid out his vision to wean Hawaii off fossil fuels Tuesday, listing the increased use of batteries with solar systems, the short-term use of liquefied natural gas and the reduction in incentives paid to solar owners as changes he'd like to see.

Ige also said he supports converting Hawaii power plants to LNG, which could potentially lower the cost of electricity in the short term as the state shifts gradually toward more renewable energy sources.

From an electrical utility perspective, "yes, LNG must be just a bridge fuel," he said. "It must be a transitional fuel. … LNG does offer the opportunity to reduce costs in the near term, but it is still an imported fossil fuel."

Ige said his administration will work to add more rooftop solar power, but changes need to be made to how much solar owners are paid for the excess energy their systems produce.

Solar customers will receive lower payments for the power they send to the grid, Ige said, adding that is consistent with the decreasing amounts the utility pays utility-scale power producers, such as wind farm operators.

"We do need to make adjustments," Ige said. "We've changed … the power purchase agreements, and it does make sense that we look at changing the net energy metering."

Despite advocating a change in net energy metering, Ige said helping to increase solar will be a focus of his administration.

"Right now rooftop solar is top of mind with many consumers, and we want to make sure that we can be aggressive with allowing communities and people in our community who want to make that investment to have that opportunity," Ige said.

Ige listed community solar — or larger systems for residents who don't have roof space for solar — as another option to increase the renewable energy resource in Hawaii.

As solar power's reliability fluctuates with the time of day, Ige noted other renewable energy sources that can help get the state to its goals.

"The advantage of wind is it can be blowing any time of the day," Ige said.

Geothermal and wave energy will also be important renewable options to help power the state, Ige said.

Batteries are "the next great breakthrough" for adopting more renewables, Ige said.

"We see battery prices dropping all the time. There is significant interest and investment in that. That will allow us to move forward with the renewables," he said.

Ige said that the state should encourage battery use with solar systems.

"We need to encourage investment in them and figure out how we can get them into the grid," Ige said.

As for his own home — before moving into the governor's residence — Ige said he had rooftop PV and a solar water heater for years.

"I did install solar panels on my previous home," he said. "It was maybe the second year when solar had really taken off."