NEWS RELEASE: Governor Ige on national stage at Washington Post energy forum
Posted on Jun 24, 2015 in Latest Department News, Newsroom, Office of the Governor Press ReleasesVideo: https://youtu.be/LKN_1OdE7jQ
Honolulu — Governor Ige joined elected officials and business leaders from across the country on Tuesday for The Washington Post’s “Powering Cities” forum, in which Ige was a key speaker.
Gov. Ige discussed Hawai‘i’s commitment to clean energy, having signed Act 097 into law this month, making Hawai‘i the first state in the nation to set a 100 percent renewable energy standard – generating 100 percent of its electricity sales from renewable energy resources — by 2045.
“Our energy costs are the highest in the country. We pay 37 cents per kilowatt hour, a lot more than anyone else (in the nation),” Gov. Ige said. “The challenge is storage. It’s about how we will be able to generate the power from the renewables when it’s available, store it and be able to deliver it to the customer when they want to use it in a reliable and safe fashion.”
“The technology we need (for 100 percent renewable power) exists today, but it hasn’t been produced at utility scale,” said Gov. Ige.
Powering Cities is part of The Washington Post’s America Answers series, highlighting innovative ideas from cities, states and businesses outside the Beltway.
Here is a link to the Governor’s segment:
###