HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

32

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

ENCOURAGING THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM TO CONTINUE ENERGY ADAPTATION EFFORTS TO ADDRESS PLANNING AND EFFICIENCY AS WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS AND MOBILE ELECTRONIC DEVICES ALTER ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND DEMAND.

 

 


WHEREAS, analysts have estimated that current electricity consumption in the global information and communications technologies ecosystem ranges from 1,100 to 1,800 terawatt-hours per year; and

 

WHEREAS, global electricity consumption by information and communications technologies today is the same as that used by lighting in 1985; and

 

WHEREAS, per bit, data transmitted over a wireless network consumes more energy than when transported over a fiber optics network; and

 

WHEREAS, migration from wired internet to the wireless internet through digital devices is happening fastest in emerging markets and worldwide, mobile data traffic has doubled in the past year and is forecasted to increase tenfold in the next five years; and

 

WHEREAS, current estimates of global electricity used by digital devices in the global residential and commercial sector ranges from 460 to 550 terawatt-hours annually and is comparable to global electricity consumption by residential lighting or refrigeration; and

 

WHEREAS, data created, used, and transported annually, known as the digital universe, is growing at a faster pace than at any time in history and in the near future, hourly internet traffic is expected to exceed the internet's annual traffic of the year 2000; and

 

WHEREAS, energy consumption in Hawaii is declining due to conservation efforts and adherence to the State's energy efficiency portfolio standard which was established by Act 155, Session Laws of Hawaii 2009, and set a goal of reducing electricity consumption by 4,300 gigawatt-hours by 2030; and

 

WHEREAS, Hawaii will face an upward pressure on energy demand due to the rapid expansion of consumer oriented electronic technologies and the mass storage and dissemination of data; and

 

WHEREAS, the Research and Economic Analysis Division of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism specializes in energy analysis and is capable of forecasting energy demand in Hawaii; and

 

WHEREAS, population and economic growth are the driving forces in the world's need for energy and even with substantial gains in efficiency, global energy demand by 2030 will increase by an amount equivalent to adding two United States' worth of consumption; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, that the Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism are encouraged to continue energy adaptation efforts to address planning and efficiency as wireless communications and mobile electronic devices alter energy consumption and demand; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; and head of the Research and Economic Analysis Division of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.

Report Title: 

Energy; Electricity; Research and Economic Analysis Division;