January 31, 2011
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
January 31, 2011
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Barrel tax should fund clean energy solutions
Research shows Hawai‘i residents consider clean energy a priority they are willing to pay for.
HONOLULU—According to the most recent independent statewide survey commissioned by Blue Planet Foundation, more than two-thirds of Hawai‘i residents would be willing to pay a $3 per barrel tax on oil imports to fund Hawai‘i’s clean energy future. The findings lend significant support to various measures pending before the legislature that would increase the barrel tax or redistribute its revenue.
The first barrel tax hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 1. Under consideration is Senate Bill 722, which would reallocate 55 cents from the $1.05 surcharge on every barrel of petroleum to clean energy programs and 45 cents to food security programs. Under current law, 60 cents from each barrel is diverted to the general fund, while only 25 cents per barrel goes toward energy security, 15 cents toward food security, and 5 cents toward oil spill emergency response.
Blue Planet Foundation, a local nonprofit committed to clean energy solutions, believes that a minimum $5 tax per barrel should be levied to accelerate Hawai‘i's clean energy transition. All of the revenue collected should fund clean energy efforts, including energy efficiency programs, planning, investment, and renewable energy integration.
“The original intent behind the barrel tax was to convert the source of Hawai‘i’s energy problem into a solution,” says Blue Planet's executive director Jeff Mikulina, encouraging lawmakers to recognize the broad support for Hawaii’s energy security. “The existing partial solution compromises its benefits and denies the public of the direct investment they believe the barrel tax should be.”
A December 2010 Market Trends Pacific survey (400 residents statewide with +/- 4.9% margin of error) asked what residents were willing to pay additionally each month on their total energy bill if the revenue were directed toward clean energy initiatives. Results indicated:
- 69% of Hawai‘i residents would "definitely pay" an additional $5 a month (approximately $3 barrel tax); including those who would "possibly pay," this number jumps to 85%
- 58% of Hawai‘i residents would "definitely pay" an additional $10 a month (approximately $6 barrel tax)
- 45% of Hawai‘i residents would "definitely pay" an additional $15 a month (approximately $9 barrel tax)
- 77% of Hawai‘i residents support "a significant undertaking to make Hawai‘i 100% energy-independent within a decade"
These numbers reconfirm the findings from two separate surveys conducted by QMark Research in December 2009 and March 2010 to measure public support for clean energy initiatives.
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