Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of articles The Garden Island will publish this week on candidates for the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative Board of Directors. LIHUE — If elected to serve another term on the Kauai
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of articles The Garden Island will publish this week on candidates for the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative Board of Directors.
LIHUE — If elected to serve another term on the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative board of directors, Calvin Murashige wants to explore ways to inspire people to be more energy efficient.
One idea Murashige is tossing around is the use of timers on home appliances.
“They can be turned on and off when needed, and are relatively easy and cheap to install,” he said.
Timers are an alternative to rooftop solar because renters and owners on a budget can afford them, he added.
But for those who do have rooftop solar, Murashige said the board should look at offering incentives to people who use their appliances between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., when the sun is at its strongest.
He also said KIUC needs to be proactive in passing out LED light bulbs, offering rebates for people who use Green Star appliances and encouraging people to turn off lights when they aren’t needed.
“It’s the little things that help,” he said.
Murashige is confident the cooperative will reach its goal of using 50 percent of renewable energy to power Kauai by 2023. He also expects the island to be 100 percent powered by renewable energy by 2045.
“We have accomplished a great deal, and reaching the 100 percent renewable’s goal is just a matter of following through with certain projects,” he said. “I’m always amazed by the energy-saving ideas our staff comes forward with — they always do their homework and research.”
Pumped storage hydro is a proposed system that will use an upper pond in Kokee to power a turbine and produce electricity during the night. The force of the water going downhill through a pipe will be able to generate power for the island for 100 years, he said.
Last week, SolarCity announced it would be working with Tesla Energy to supply batteries for a solar array and energy storage system to be built on Kauai. The project will provide the grid with 13 megawatts of electricity, which will power homes when the sun is down.
“When I first got on the board, batteries were in the background,” Murashige said. “But now, their cost has gone down and their storage capabilities have increased.”
Murashige, 70, was elected to the KIUC board in 2012. The Lihue resident and retired family court judge said he got involved in the board to give back to the community.
His career as a judge and work on the board have stark differences, he said.
“It’s certainly a different decision-making process,” he said. “As a judge, it was up to me to make a decision, but as a director, the board makes decisions together.”
As a KIUC director, Murashige says he would continue to look for low-cost energy alternatives.
“Cost is a factor, and there’s something out there that is cheaper than what we have now,” he said. “We just haven’t discovered it yet.”
