Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 1903, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to exempt seawater air conditioning district cooling projects from regulation by the Public Utilities Commission.

The exemption is contingent on at least fifty per cent of the energy required for the seawater air conditioning district cooling system coming from a renewable energy resource, such as cold, deep seawater.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this bill from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning LLC, Marine and Coastal Solutions International, Inc., and Jacoby Development, Inc. The Public Utilities Commission submitted comments for this bill.

Your Committee finds that seawater air conditioning projects can help advance our State's energy policy goal of reducing dependence on fossil fuels. The use of cold seawater to air condition buildings not only reduces fossil fuel-generated energy consumption, but also reduces the demand for electricity during peak-use hours and thus the need for additional fossil fuel generating plants to satisfy peak-use demand.

Your Committee has amended this bill by removing the contents of the bill and replacing it with the contents of H.B. No. 1707, H.D. 2, with the following results:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1903, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1903, S.D. 1, H.D. 1.