Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle has signed into law a bill that raises the income tax credits for using renewable energy.

Lingle held a signing ceremony for the bill Monday at the Gay & Robinson Sugar Plantation on Kauai, the site of one of five facilities that various companies plan statewide to generate electrical power from burning farm materials.

The new law increases the income tax credit for renewable energy technologies for certain solar-thermal, wind-powered and photovoltaic energy systems.

The dollar cap for tax credits for single-family residential solar thermal systems is now $2,250, a nearly 30 percent increase.

If you stay in Kauai long enough, you’ll hear locals talk about the power of Hawaii’s oldest island. There’s a sense of wisdom and spirituality in the soil, and it makes its way into the lush, abundant produce grown here.

The best place to experience the bounty of Kauai’s harvests this fall is the Blossoming Lotus. The vegan and raw food restaurant is a mainstay in Kapaa, a coastal town on the east side of the island. It offers gourmet world-fusion cuisine made without meat, eggs or dairy products. In the restaurant’s raw or “live food” dishes, nothing is heated above 116 degrees, which preserves key enzymes.