EPA on Friday rejected Hawaii’s long-term haze reduction plan that would have required two oil-fired power plants to shut down.
The agency earlier this year made a similar move to prevent Colorado from closing a coal-fired power plant as part of its haze plan and reflects the Trump administration’s broader effort to boost fossil fuels.
The Hawaii plan included the shuttering of two plants: the 21-megawatt Kanoelehua-Hill Generating Station on the island of Hawaii and the 34-MW Kahului Generating Station on Maui. They are close to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Haleakala National Park, respectively.
The state’s biggest utility had previously planned to voluntarily close those plants but reversed course after new planned renewable generation fell though. Hawaiian Electric now opposes shuttering the plants “due to concerns that they would result in potential energy reserve shortfalls which would endanger grid reliability,” EPA said in its decision.
