The first public commenters on a $2 billion liquefied natural gas power project proposed for Oʻahu are asking federal regulators to look beyond simply the environmental impacts related to the offshore infrastructure that makes up a relatively small part of the project. 

Instead, they want the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to examine the broader impacts of natural gas and they want the commission to explore alternatives. 

Accepting public comments is among the first steps in the commission’s pre-review of the project that must take place before JERA Co. can file a formal application. 

The review largely covers an offshore terminal, a floating regasification terminal and a pipeline that together encompass about a fourth of the project’s cost. The commission says the project’s 500-megawatt, $1.5 billion generators don’t fall under its jurisdiction. 

That separation defies common sense, said Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of the Land, one of the first to submit a public comment. It might make sense to review only the new offshore terminal and pipeline if they were to provide gas to an existing facility, Curtis said, but that’s not what’s happening here. 

“Both parts must be included in the analysis,” Curtis said. Life of the Land is among Hawaiʻi’s oldest environmental organizations, which frequently intervenes in Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission proceedings.

“Both parts must be included in the analysis.”

Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of the Land

Including both parts would open the door to analyzing the cumulative impacts of the power plant, including an analysis of life-cycle emissions related to LNG, Curtis says. He also wants FERC to evaluate alternatives to the power plant, such as solar farms combined with battery storage.

Although generally cheaper and cleaner burning than the oil Hawaiʻi now uses to fuel power plants, critics say natural gas leaks can make LNG worse for the environment than burning oil and question whether Hawaiʻi should invest in a fossil fuel when, under state law, all electricity sold in Hawaiʻi must be generated from renewable resources by 2045.

That mandate has led to widespread development of industrial-scale solar and wind farms and battery storage facilities. But power plants generating so-called “firm power” are still expected to be part of the portfolio after 2045, especially on population-dense Oʻahu.

Agency Is Calling For Public Comments

On Wednesday FERC announced two open houses on Oʻahu where the public can express views and concerns, at the University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu’s Multi-Purpose Ballroom on Aug. 3 and the Neal Blaisdell Center’s Pīkake Ballroom on Aug. 5. FERC also is accepting public comments through an online comment system.

JERA, operating as Longboard LNG, is participating in the open houses. The company also has established a website with information on the open houses and project, and a telephone hotline, (808) 582-0299.

Kailua resident Erin Kelly, the only other resident to comment so far, echoed Curtis. 

“The EIS must include a thorough, good-faith analysis of whether Hawaiʻi’s electricity reliability needs can be met through renewable energy and storage alternatives without the construction of new fossil fuel import infrastructure,” she wrote.

Erik Montague, vice president of development for JERA Americas, pointed to FERC’s website, which specifically says it does not “approve physical construction of electric generation facilities.” The agency’s jurisdiction under the U.S. Natural Gas Act, he said, applies only to the floating storage and regasification unit and mooring system, the pipeline and an onshore facility that would receive the gas. 

“The proposed power generation facility at Campbell Industrial Park is not part of FERC’s review,” Montague said.

Cost To Customers

JERA’s plans to build the $2 billion, 500-megawatt power plant on Oʻahu would significantly change the state’s energy economy.

The comments and JERA’s response foreshadow the debates likely to ensue as the commission and JERA step up efforts to engage the public. And cost for consumers will inevitably will be part of that discussion.

Hawaiian Electric Co., Inc., has received regulatory approval for a $1.1 billion, 250-megawatt upgrade to its Waiau power plant that would initially use oil and bio-diesel before transitioning to renewables by 2045. That project is expected to add about $3 to $5 per month to the typical electric bills for residential customers, not counting the cost of bio-diesel which is more expensive than the oil HECO now uses.

JERA, which has a strategic partnership with Gov. Josh Green, says it can do its project at a far lower cost to ratepayers, but the company has yet to file anything with the Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission outlining specifics.

“To be clear, please note that this Project has not yet been approved or authorized.”

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

The main cost of JERA’s facility involves $1.5 billion for fuel-flexible generators that would use natural gas until 2045, when under state law it would have to use renewables, such as bio-diesel or hydrogen, which the Japanese government is supporting as part of its national energy policy.

The rest of JERA’s proposed $2 billion investment, about $460 million, involves paying for the offshore facilities and pipelines used to regasify super-cooled liquefied natural gas and transport it to the power plant, to be located at Barber’s Point in Kalaeloa, the company has said.

FERC stressed on Wednesday that it’s just starting the pre-review.

“To be clear, please note that this Project has not yet been approved or authorized,” the commission said in an email to stakeholders. “FERC is reviewing the Project using its processes, including consideration of all comments received.”

Civil Beat’s coverage of climate change and the environment is supported by The Healy Foundation, the Marisla Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.