Meet our Platinum Members:

HAWAI’I GAS

In early December 2011 operations commenced at HAWAI’I GAS’s (The Clean Energy Company)  Natural Gas (“RNG”) pilot plant.  The plant operates at a capacity of 1 million gallons of feedstock per year utilizing a thermal catalytic hydrocracking process that converts fats and oils (triglycerides) into short chain liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons.  Production during the start-up phase is producing renewable fuel to be consumed on site at the Company’s Synthetic Natural Gas (“SNG”) plant or distributed with the SNG-produced methane stream by pipeline to customers in metropolitan Honolulu.

 

 

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Participating in the Commissioning of the RNG pilot plant, from left to right: Maurice Kaya (Hawaii Renewable Energy Venture); Mike Gabbard (State Senator); Neil Abercrombie (Governor), Calvin Say (State Speaker of the House); Sharon Har (State Representative) and Jeffrey Kissel (HAWAI’I GAS President and CEO)

The purpose of this pilot plant is to obtain operating data sufficient to scale up operations to satisfy about 50%  of  Hawaii Gas’s feedstock requirement with feedstock from renewable or sustainable sources.  Once the RNG pilot plant reaches full capacity it will supply about 3% to 6% of current capacity from renewable feedstock sources.

The pilot plant is designed to produce mainly gaseous and some liquid biofuels from locally-sourced renewable resources and to increase the percentage of sustainable/renewable fuels. The initial feedstock supply that will be used during the commissioning of the plant is being supplied from local sources.  The bulk of the feedstock will be yellow grease, waste vegetable oil, animal fat and brown grease. Fats and oils typically contain 128,400 BTUs/gallon or 16,900 BTUs/pound.  At $0.40 per pound (assuming 100% conversion) this would equate to $2.37 per therm, or standard cubic foot of gas for a pound of yellow grease versus about $3.25/therm for the current naphtha based feedstock.

MORE ABOUT HAWAI’I GAS

Overview

HAWAI’I GAS provides clean, reliable and efficient gas energy to residential, business and government customers in every community across Hawaii’s six major islands — Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, Kauai, Molokai and Lanai. Next to the sun itself, gas is the most efficient way to heat water, cook food and dry clothes. HAWAI’I GAS makes SNG at the only facility of its kind in the United States and supplies it through a 1,100-mile pipeline network to nearly 30,000 commercial and residential utility customers on Oahu. Hawaii Gas also supplies tank and bottled propane gas to more than 40,000 customers statewide.

Clean Energy

To help Hawaii’s state government meet its goal of 70 percent clean energy by 2030, HAWAI’I GAS is producing RNG from sustainable non-food-grade oils and fats at its RNG  production plant on Oahu. HAWAI’I GAS is working to produce at least half of its gas from renewable and sustainable sources.

Parent Company

The Gas Company dba HAWAI’I GAS  is a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Infrastructure Company (“MIC”) – (NYSE: MIC — www.macquarie.com/mic). MIC owns, operates and invests in a diversified group of infrastructure businesses that provide basic services to customers across the United States.