The island of Kauai is, for many reasons, a glorious place to live. The temperature ranges from the low 70s to the mid 80s, and with a population of 72,000, the island lifestyle is truly a tropical paradise.
With such a moderate climate, there is no need for heat or air conditioning and there is virtually no industry beyond tourism. Power use is approximately 6000 kWh/year for the average household which is almost 50% less than PER PERSON consumption on the mainland. With 50 MW of power needs, they rely on 65% solar, with batteries that have 5 hours of storage, 1 coal plant which will be decommissioned in 2022, biomass, and diesel generators. Perhaps not surprisingly, they have virtually no wind as islanders don’t support windmills to protect the birds and the viewshed.
It’s an interesting case study. The perfect climate, no access to natural gas, and low power demand per person. The challenge? Power costs 33c / kWh as compare to 12c on the mainland, and when it’s cloudy or dark, they need the diesel generators to kick in.
Something for mainlanders to think about. Every climate is unique, but even in utopia, 100% renewable mandates are impossible unless the trade off is hours without power, to say nothing of the cost that power.