(a) There is established within the department of business, economic development, and tourism, a Hawaii clean energy initiative program to manage the State’s transition to a clean energy economy. The clean energy program shall design, implement, and administer activities that include:
Electricity: means all electrical energy produced by combustion of any fuel, or generated or produced using wind, the sun, geothermal heat, ocean water, falling water, currents, and waves, or any other source. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 196-2
Energy: means work or heat that is, or may be, produced from any fuel or source whatsoever. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 196-2
Energy resources: means fuel, and also includes all electrical or thermal energy produced by combustion of any fuel, or generated, produced, or stored using wind, the sun, geothermal heat, ocean water, falling water, currents, waves, or any other source. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 196-2
(1) Strategic partnerships for the research, development, testing, deployment, and permitting of clean and renewable technologies;(2) Engineering and economic evaluations of Hawaii’s potential for near-term project opportunities for the State’s renewable energy resources;(3) Electric grid reliability and security projects that will enable the integration of a substantial increase of electricity from renewable-energy resources;(4) A statewide clean energy public education and outreach plan to be developed in coordination with Hawaii’s institutions of public education;(5) Promotion of Hawaii’s clean and renewable resources to potential partners and investors;(6) A plan, to be implemented from 2011 to 2030, to transition the State to a clean energy economy; and(7) A plan, to be implemented from 2011 to 2030, to assist each county in transitioning to a clean energy economy.(b) Prior to the initiation of any activities authorized under subsection (a), the department of business, economic development, and tourism shall develop a plan of action with the intent of promoting effective prioritization and focusing of efforts consistent with the State’s energy programs and objectives.(c) The department of business, economic development, and tourism shall submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session on the status and progress of new and existing clean energy initiatives. The report shall also include:
(1) The spending plan of the Hawaii clean energy initiative program;(2) All expenditures of energy security special fund moneys; and(3) The targeted markets of the expenditures, including reasons for selecting those markets, the persons to be served, specific objectives of the program, and program expenditures, including measurable outcomes.
