Gov. Linda Lingle signed three bills into law Tuesday to increase renewable energy and reduce Hawaii's dependence on oil.
Two of the bills will provide renewable energy project developers with assistance with the permitting process and the third bill will allow the state Department of Agriculture to offer a new class of loans to encourage farmers to produce alternative sources of energy, the state said.
Act 207 gives the director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism new responsibilities as the state's energy resources coordinator. That is intended to create a streamlined permitting process for the siting, development, construction and operation of a new renewable energy plant that can produce at least 200 megawatts of electricity.
Act 208 creates a full-time renewable energy facilitator position at DBEDT. The facilitator would report to the state energy coordinator and his or her duties will include facilitating existing permits, proposing changes to the permit process and coordinating projects.
Act 209 establishes a new class of loans that will help farmers create their own power for their operations. The bill expands the state's existing agricultural and aquaculture loan programs to allow farmers to develop renewable energy for their farms using sources such as photovoltaic, hydro, wind, methane, biodiesel and ethanol.
The maximum loan amount would be $1.5 million or 85 percent of the project cost, whichever is less, for up to 40 years. The annual interest rate will be 3 percent for agricultural loans and 5 percent for aquaculture loans.
