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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  RESOLUTION


ENCOURAGING THE COUNTIES OF THE STATE OF HAWAII TO ADOPT THE
   STANDARDS FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN THE MODEL ENERGY CODE
   TO APPLY TO ALL NEW RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY.


 1       WHEREAS, in 1997, Hawaii residents and businesses spent
 2   about $2.8 billion on energy, or eight per cent of the $34
 3   billion gross state product, amounting to $2,139 per capita, or
 4   8.2 per cent of Hawaii's average per capita annual income;  and
 5   
 6       WHEREAS, Hawaii residents paid the fifth highest overall
 7   energy prices in the nation in 1995, thirty-three per cent
 8   higher than the national average, and Hawaii ranked third
 9   highest in electricity prices, thirty-four per cent above the
10   national average;  and
11   
12       WHEREAS, in order to provide a stable foundation for
13   Hawaii's economy, diversification of energy supplies, and a
14   continued emphasis on efficiency of energy use are essential;
15   and
16   
17       WHEREAS, since oil prices can quickly and dramatically
18   impact the State's economy, encouraging the design of the most
19   efficient buildings possible, by requiring a minimum level of
20   energy efficiency, is easily cost effective in all sectors of
21   the economy;  and
22   
23       WHEREAS, Hawaii's Model Energy Code is a building energy
24   efficiency standard that includes a set of requirements for the
25   energy-efficient design of buildings and building systems,
26   which assure the application of cost-effective design practices
27   and technologies to minimize energy consumption without
28   sacrificing either the comfort or productivity of the
29   occupants;  and
30   
31       WHEREAS, the requirements developed for the code are
32   intended to provide a simple payback period of less than ten
33   years, meaning that the additional cost due to a requirement is
34   less than ten times the annual energy savings, and are
35   therefore expected to save $1.1 million per year in consumer
36   energy costs, roughly equivalent to 11,600 megawatt-hours of 

 
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                                  H.R. NO.              
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   electricity or 21,000 barrels of oil per year, with cumulative
 2   energy savings estimated to reach 174,000 barrels per year in
 3   2001 and 350,000 barrels in 2011;  and
 4   
 5       WHEREAS, the overall cost savings that could be achieved
 6   through the implementation of the code by each of the counties
 7   for residences far outweighs the minimal additional up front
 8   charges in building materials that would be required to
 9   implement these provisions;  and
10   
11       WHEREAS, the State will continue to grow, creating new
12   demands for energy resources that must be met through the
13   construction of new electric generating facilities or
14   alternatively through energy efficiency measures, but the peak
15   electricity demand savings are estimated to be about 2.8
16   megawatts per year, reaching 25 megawatts by 2001 and 50
17   megawatts in 2011, which would cancel out the need to supply an
18   equivalent amount of new electric power;  now, therefore,
19   
20       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
21   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
22   of 2000, that all of the counties in the State of Hawaii are
23   encouraged to adopt the standards for residential buildings set
24   forth in Hawaii's Model Energy Code to apply to all new
25   residential real property;  and
26   
27       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
28   Resolution be transmitted to each of the counties in the State
29   of Hawaii, the Governor, the Speaker of the House of
30   Representatives, and the Building Industry Association.
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34                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________
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