Letter: Public Utilities Commission denies HECO’s Aina Koa Pono biofuel application

September 30, 2011 09:00 AM

On Thursday, September 29, the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) completely rejected the Hawaiian Electric Company’s (HECO) Aina Koa Pono application for approval of a Bionic Fuel Technology (BFT) backed Microwave Depolymerization (MWDP) biofuel plant in Ka’u, Hawaii Island, and open-ended and unjustified rate increase for HECO/HELCO customers.

This fight was not just an open-ended, unjustified electric rate increase issue as some have suggested, but also a fight against Hawaii government and business corruption at its worst, potential conflicts of interest and incestuous ties, and all the lies, deception, misinformation, lack of information, international trade infringement on technology from Denmark, and more.

I’m sure environmental commentatorCharlene on Green will have more than just a few words to say on Saturday about the rejection of this bogus HECO Aina Koa Pono application, so tune in to KGU AM760 on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. or listen live here. You may also download the podcast sometime over the weekend here.

Maybe now, people in this town will finally give Charlene on Green the respect and financial support she deserves but has not received. She is for the people, not for money and power hungry businesses and politicians.

The people of Hawaii won an important victory today for our energy future. This should be a good day for all of Hawaii, not just Hawaii Island or Kau residents.

However, we should not let our guard down just because we won this one fight. We must remain vigilant against future attempts by the Hawaii Legislature, the Governor, and big business, including HECO/MECO/HELCO, to hide the truth from the people and do what they damn well please regardless of the negative impact on the Aina and the people of Hawaii.

Attention must be focused on the betterment of the human condition and better stewardship of Spaceship Earth before we destroy it and ourselves right along with it instead of focusing on more and more money and power to the detriment of society, of our state, of our country, and of our world.

People around the world should embrace our Hawaiian values of Aloha, Lokahi, Malama, Pono, and Pookela, or love, unity, caring, truth, and excellence.

I don’t think anyone in Hawaii, including myself, is opposed to biofuel processes as long as they are cost effective, clean and green, used to create transportation fuel instead of electricity, are done in a pono way with full transparency and community involvement, and don’t require the public to pay for projects that should be paid solely by private investors.

My thanks go out to all Hawaii Island residents who fought along with us against this application to protect their community and their way of life for themselves and for future generations, to those who wrote stories about the project, and to those who included our stories on their websites to help educate the people about the true nature of the project.

Malama Pono,

Ed Wagner
Mililani