Big Island company inks deal to provide biofuel

HONOLULU (AP) – Crops grown on the Big Island will be converted into liquid fuel as part of a deal between Hawaiian Electric Co. and renewable energy company Aina Koa Pono.

The agreement is the first in Hawaii to produce enough biofuel for use in power plants, where it will be converted to electricity.

By 2015, the 13,000-acre energy farm is projected to produce about 16 percent of the Big Island’s energy supply.

Power users on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island would pay about one-third of a cent per kilowatt hour extra to fund the accord, or about $1.86 per month for a typical residential consumer.

The cost hike would have to be approved by state regulators.

The deal is part of the state’s goal to get 40 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030

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