Seminar: Shari Ishikawa, "Renewable Integration - Opportunities and Challenges" (6/26/2009)

Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (HECO), and its subsidiaries, Maui Electric Company, Ltd. (MECO), and Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc. (HELCO), provide electricity to 95% of the state's 1.2 million residents on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, Lanai and Molokai. On Oct. 20, 2008, in the chambers of Governor Linda Lingle, an historic agreement was signed between the State of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Electric companies. The energy agreement, part of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI), puts Hawaii on a path toward a future where 70 percent of its electricity and ground transportation needs will come from clean energy sources by the year 2030. This is a major transformation for a state now over 90 percent dependent on imported fossil fuels. In 2008, Oahu generated approximately 4.5% of its electricity from renewable energy. Maui County and the Big Island had 13 percent and 32 percent of its electricity, respectively, generated from renewable resources, much of which was variable (wind and solar). In this seminar, Shari will discuss some of the operational challenges that the utilities are experiencing with the current level of variable generation. She will also discuss issues of integrating additional renewable generation to meet the HCEI goals and describe how the utility plans to address these issues. Finally, Shari will also touch upon how the Smart Grid could play a role in renewable integration.

About the speaker: Shari Ishikawa is Superintendent of the Operating Division of System Operations at Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO). Previously, Shari was Director of Dispatch Office Project and led a team that successfully implemented a new Energy Management System and construction of a new state-of-the-art Dispatch Center. Shari also previously worked in the Planning and Engineering Department of HECO, where she held a variety of positions including Planning Engineer, Senior Planning Engineer, and Principal Transmission Planning Engineer. Prior to moving to HECO, Shari worked at Commonwealth Edison in Chicago. Shari has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Hawaii.