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The U.S. Energy Department has put out another unflattering audit — its third in a series looking at billions of dollars in unspent federal stimulus funds meant to pay for energy-related projects. Again it blames red tape and scant staff.

Last week, I did a story on the first two audits, which showed Hawaii has barely touched its share of stimulus money received for energy projects.

Hawaii again didn’t fare well in the latest audit. But we’re not alone.

The three audits show most states have spent very little or none of their share of $11 billion set aside for energy initiatives a year and a half after Congress passed the . President Barack Obama has frequently been criticized for pushing the massive $787 billion stimulus package that some say has not produced the promised results of job creation and increased economic activity.

The latest looked at $3.1 billion handed out for so-called “State Energy Programs.” (The other two audits looked at $3.2 billion for the and $4.73 billion for the .)


The $3.1 billion for the State Energy Program was meant to “stimulate the economy by creating and preserving jobs while increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy.” Hawaii’s share of that was $25.93 million. As of August, the audit says Hawaii has spent only $1.23 million, or less than 5 percent. The confirmed that spending figure, but said it has “obligated” about 85 percent of the money for projects and programs.

The office says the money has been used in part for such projects as starting the environmental impact statement process for the proposed undersea interisland cable, which the state would own, to transmit wind power to Oahu from Molokai and Lanai. Other projects include efficiency upgrades and retrofits for state and county buildings, starting an energy-efficiency rebate program for Kauai (which has a consumer-owned electrical utility), and creating a permitting guidebook for renewable energy projects.

Nationally, only 7.2 percent — $222.2 million — of the $3.1 billion has been spent. Twenty-six other states have spent larger percentages of their shares than Hawaii, including front-runners Delaware, which has spent 45 percent of its $24.2 million, and Idaho, which has spent 28 percent of its $28.6 million. Meanwhile, Alaska, Tennessee and New Jersey have yet to spend any of their funds.

As with the first two audits, the Energy Department points to red tape and insufficient staffing for the “lethargic spending,” noting that the $3.1 billion was a dramatic increase over the $25 million budgeted in fiscal 2009 for the program.

An issue has been that states are wanting to use the money for large projects that trigger environmental regulations. Projects that states previously would pay for through the federally-funded program were not subject to laws — four laws, specifically — that are now applicable because stimulus dollars are involved.

One of those laws is the National Environmental Policy Act, which the audit said has now become an issue “because states chose to pursue larger, more complex projects than they had previously managed under much more limited funding … However, with the additional Recovery Act funding, states proposed larger, more complex projects that required more thorough consideration of the potential environmental impacts.”

Staffing also was cited. The U.S. Energy Department says it has since upped its project officers overseeing the State Energy Program to 20 from seven. The project officers are responsible for monitoring progress and helping states get projects approved and started.

Like with the first two audits, program officials said the stimulus funds have been more successful than the audits make it seem because most of the money, while unspent, has been committed to projects and programs. But the Energy Department’s said “actual expenditures — payroll, equipment and construction material purchases, inventory acquisition — are a better benchmark by which to gauge the economic progress of activity generated.”