Dive Brief:
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Already committed to generating 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2045, Hawaii will consider a State Legislature bill for all ground transportation energy to be renewable by the 2045 deadline, according to ABC News.
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Hawaii, which counts just 5,000 electric vehicles among its one million cars on the road, imports all of its fuel and motor oil.
- Accounting for the state’s Department of Transportation vehicle fleets in addition to commercial and construction vehicles has yet to be resolved under the current bill, although it is expected that compliance with the ordinance would not be enforced by state-wide mandate.
Dive Insight:
With the construction industry poised to consume 2.3 trillion gallons of diesel fuel this year, the move by Hawaii to go all-renewable within 30 years isn’t without its challenges. Even advocates of the bill question how the state could enforce an all-renewable measure, which doesn’t account for the fuel consumed by fixed-wing and rotary aircraft for inter-island travel.
The bill nevertheless enjoys broad-based support across the state, with an endorsement from the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association, which has been a key ally in establishing Hawaii as second only to California in electronic vehicles per capita, with 2.9 electric vehicles on the road for every 1,000 residents, according to ABC News. Of course, auto dealers stand to benefit from a state-wide replacement of internal combustion engine vehicles with electric ones.
In November 2016, Hawaii joined 35 states in a national rollout of an alternative fuel and electric vehicle charging highway network. Seven transportation corridors in the state were identified as “signage ready” for alerting drivers to the availability of charging stages across designated routes. The Hawaii DOT said the initiative is intended to help identify and deploy electric vehicle infrastructure and highlight the importance of strategic clean transportation roadways and recharging locations.
