Web exclusive posted Jan. 30, 2008, at 4:32 p.m. CST

Major environmental and cultural organizations in Hawaii have reaffirmed their stances on opposing a "palm oil pipeline" intended for large-scale biodiesel production on the islands.

Hawaii is the most petroleum-dependent state in terms of electrical production, with more than 90 percent of the state's energy needs coming from imported oil. Despite abundant renewable energy sources from solar, wind and hydroelectric power, Hawaiian Electric Co. Inc. has spent the past year supporting proposals to construct two large biodiesel plants-one by Imperium Renewables Inc. on Oahu and one by BlueEarth Biofuels LLC on Maui. Both intend to use imported palm oil from Indonesia and/or Maylasia as a feedstock.

In October , HECO and the Natural Resources Defense Council finalized a policy to ensure that HECO's two electric companies-Maui Electric and Hawaii Electric Light Co.-would only purchase biodiesel fuel produced from locally grown, sustainable feedstocks and palm oil. These feedstocks would comply with international standards established by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, an international organization made up of more than 200 members who represent all facets of the palm oil industry.

HECO, in partnership with BlueEarth Biofuels LLC, intends to build a 40 MMgy biodiesel facility to supply the renewable fuel to Maui Electric Co., which uses diesel for approximately 85 percent of its electricity production. The project is slated for full operation by mid-2009. In addition, HECO has committed to using 100 percent biofuels at its new 110-megawatt electricity generator at Campbell Industrial Park on Oahu, which is expected to be completed in July 2009.

If constructed, the two plants' combined capacity of 220 MMgy would exceed the potential output that could be produced in Hawaii, even if all available statewide agricultural lands were utilized for the sole purpose of biofuels. Though neither company has broken ground yet, Hawaiian environmental advocates are focused on preventing the global side effects that might follow when sourcing palm oil from other countries. Their concerns include the destruction of rainforests, threatening of endangered species and/or imposing the rights of indigenous peoples. "Our mantra is that all sustainability is local," said Rob Parsons, executive vice president of the Maui Tomorrow Foundation, an environmental protection organization that has lobbied for ecological preservation on Maui for nearly 15 years. "What's happening in Indonesia and Malaysia is really an ecological disaster of our time with rain forest destruction and habitat loss of endangered species, particularly over the past decade."

Alternative indigenous bidiesel feedstocks include jatropha, African palm oil, algae, and coconut and kakui nuts. However, it may take some time before the islands realize their contributions to the renewable energy arena on the islands.

"Sustainability is of utmost importance to Imperium Renewables as evidenced by the fact that we were the first biofuel company to become a member of the RSPO," said Imperium Renewables spokesman John Williams. "Hawaii has massive potential to be a center for both research and cultivation of such feedstocks, and we intend to support the development of its potential."

Concerns about imported palm oil surfaced this week in light of a major climate change meeting, "Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change," held at the University of Hawaii East-West Center. The conference was the second of two rounds. The first was hosted in Washington, D.C., in September. Sixteen of the top 17 carbon-emitting nations attended to discuss voluntary carbon reduction strategies. The conference differed from the United Nations-sponsored event held in Bali, where the focus was on establishing global carbon standards pertinent to the Kyoto Protocol.

"We're saying it's time to phase out the liquid-fuel-burning generators and use the available resources that we have an abundance of here in Hawaii," Parsons said. "If biodiesel is to be used here, it makes more sense to use it for transportation fuel rather than for electrical generation."