At a hearing conducted Thursday by lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives, Hawaiian Electric President and CEO Shelee Kimura defended some of the decisions the utility made immediately before the deadly wildfires that broke out on Maui on Aug. 8. Kimura said that none of the utility’s protocols did not include de-energizing power lines during high fire risk conditions, and that in 2019, the utility began developing a wildfire prevention plan that concluded that proactive shut-offs were not “the appropriate fit for Hawaii.” The cause of the afternoon fire, that spread to Lahaina, has not been determined. Lawmakers also brought up the prospect of burying power lines in Hawaii to prevent future fires, and said that there is also a cost to maintaining lines that are underground.
Solar Dominates US Energy Capacity Growth
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has published data showing that solar accounted for over 75% of US electrical generating
