REG turns Hawaiian electric green

The deal is finally done and dusted. In the US the state Public Utilities Commission has given Hawaiian Electric (HECO) approval to buy renewable biodiesel from a subsidiary of Iowa-based producer Renewable Energy Group.

The fuel, 3 to 7 million gallons in total, processed from used cooking oil and waste animal fat will be used at Hawaiian Electric's new 110MW combustion turbine generator unit at Campbell Industrial Park on Oahu.

In another ruling, the PUC approved a contract for HECO to buy 1 million gallons of palm oil-derived biodiesel from Sime Darby of Malaysia.

The fuel will be used by HECO subsidiary Maui Electric Co. for its biodiesel demonstration project at the Maalaea Power Plant.