A SWAC development in Hawaii would provide the following benefits.

• Stable cooling costs. Honolulu has some of the highest electricity costs in the nation.  And, these costs have been increasing faster than the rate of inflation.  As energy costs are a small fraction of the total costs for a SWAC system, customers will benefit from reduced and stable cooling costs.
• Renewable energy use. Most of the energy savings from SWAC are due to the use of an infinite, 100 percent renewable energy resource—cold, deep seawater.  SWAC will greatly help the State of Hawaii and the Hawaii Electric Company meet new Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requirements.
• Reduced oil dependence.  Hawaii is more than 90 percent dependent on imported fossil fuels; most of this is oil.  The 25,000-ton HSWAC downtown project will reduce crude oil imports by more than 145,000 barrels per year.
• Reduced potable water use.  SWAC systems eliminate the need for cooling towers and, as a result, reduce potable water use, toxic chemical use and the production of sewage.  The 25,000-ton HSWAC downtown project will save up to 300 million gallons/year of potable water.  The project will also reduce sewage generation by up to 90 million gallons/year and eliminate the need for cooling water treatment chemicals.
• Environmental benefits. Reduced use of fossil fuels provides for significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and other air and water pollutants; e.g., carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by approximately 70,000 tons/year, carbon monoxide emissions by 20 tons/year, nitrogen oxides emissions by 125 tons/year and sulfur oxides emissions by 135 tons/year.
• Energy efficiency and demand side management benefits.  Energy savings with SWAC systems are 70 percent, or more, compared to conventional air conditioning.  The 25,000-ton HSWAC downtown project will save nearly 65 million kWh/year.  This is equivalent to more than 25,000 residential solar water heating systems.  The project will also eliminate the need for up to 17 megawatts of new generation, which is equivalent to more than 23,000 residential solar water heating systems.
• Reduced operations and maintenance costs. Large-scale district cooling systems have lower operating and maintenance costs than individual building air conditioning systems.
• Local economic development. The HSWAC downtown project will generate over $80 million in construction project spending.  In addition to construction jobs, a number of long-term, well-paid jobs will be created.  Other local economic development benefits will accrue from money that stays in Hawaii and is not used to purchase oil.
• Government energy goals and mandates. The HSWAC downtown project will help the City and County of Honolulu, the State of Hawaii and the federal government meet goals and mandates for energy efficiency and renewable energy use.  Government buildings will be able to meet more than 80 percent of state and federal mandates for energy efficiency and renewable energy use by just connecting to the SWAC system.
• Reliable cooling. SWAC systems are simple and technically and economically feasible today.  SWAC systems use industrial-grade, off-the-shelf components.  Seawater supply systems have many years of use and demonstrated reliability in sometimes hostile environments.  Deep water cooling systems have been successfully operated in a number of areas worldwide, from Stockholm, Sweden, to the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) on the Big Island, Hawaii.
• Customers. SWAC systems provide convenient, reliable, low- and stable-cost cooling.