Overview

Resources and Consumption

Because Hawaii is isolated from the U.S. mainland, its energy infrastructure and consumption are unique among the States. Hawaii depends heavily on imported fossil fuels to meet energy demand. Close to nine-tenths of Hawaii’s energy comes from petroleum. Hawaii uses small amounts of coal and very little natural gas. Hawaii’s main industry is tourism, and the State economy is not energy intensive. Per capita energy consumption in Hawaii is among the lowest in the Nation. Due in large part to heavy jet-fuel use by military installations and commercial airlines, the transportation sector is the leading energy-consuming sector, accounting for over one-half of the State's total energy consumption.

Petroleum

Hawaii's two refineries depend on crude oil shipped from Alaska and imported from foreign countries. The refineries, located near Honolulu on the island of Oahu, supply petroleum products to local markets. Hawaii has no major pipelines, and its ports are crucial for the distribution of petroleum products to the State’s many islands. Hawaiian consumption of most petroleum products is among the lowest in the country, but jet fuel is a notable exception. Due to heavy use by military installations and commercial airlines, jet fuel makes up a larger share of total petroleum consumption than it does in any other State except Alaska. Hawaii requires the statewide use of oxygenated motor gasoline.

Natural Gas

Although Hawaiian natural gas consumption is the lowest in the country, the State has the distinction of being one of three States that produce synthetic natural gas. Hawaii’s synthetic natural gas plant, which is located in Oahu, converts a refinery byproduct stream into a commercially viable synthetic natural gas. Studies have been undertaken to assess the feasibility of establishing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility on the islands. The commercial sector, which includes hotels and restaurants, accounts for over three-fifths of the natural gas consumed in Hawaii. The residential sector accounts for less than one-fifth of consumption, in part because very few Hawaiians rely on natural gas as their primary fuel for home heating. Natural gas is also used for cooking, water heating, drying, and lighting.

Coal, Electricity, and Renewables

Petroleum-fired power plants supply more than three-fourths of Hawaii’s electricity generation. Generation from coal and several renewable sources supply the remainder of the State’s electricity generation. Hawaii ranks among the top ten solar-producing States and produces energy from other renewable sources such as hydroelectricity, geothermal, landfill gas, and other biomass. Hawaii is one of eight States with geothermal power generation and ranks third among them. State electricity demand is among the lowest in the country. More than one-third of all Hawaiian households use electricity as their primary energy source for home heating. Due to the mild tropical climate, most households do not use any energy for home heating.

Because Hawaii has some of the most powerful waves per square meter in the world, numerous wave energy projects are being proposed and implemented off the State’s coasts. The Office of Naval Research is currently monitoring a 40-kilowatt experimental buoy that drives an electrical generator from energy generated from the bobbing motion of the waves. Floating platforms are also planned less than a mile off the northeast coast of Maui that would provide up to 2.7 megawatts of electricity derived from air driven through turbines from the rising and falling of sea swells. These wave-to-electricity systems could be operational by the end of 2011. In June 2009, Hawaii extended its renewable electricity portfolio standard to require utilities to generate 10 percent of their net electricity sales from renewable sources by the end of 2010, increasing to 40 percent by 2030.