RE+ HAWAII – A REFLECTION FOR LEARNING, INSPIRATION AND GROWTH
By Leslie Petry
Before talking about the inaugural RE+ event sponsored by Smart Electric Power Association (SEPA) and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), I want to highlight the State of Hawaii’s current action plan and goals to meet our climate crises.
Hawaii – By the Numbers
Hawaii’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) plays a crucial role in shaping the state’s electricity landscape. As of December 31, 2014, the entire RPS mandates electrical generation from renewable sources. As part of this initiative, the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) was passed, focusing on achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2045. Through collaboration between thought leaders and committed groups and individuals, HCEI builds upon the dynamic, ongoing work of public and private organizations at the national, state, and county levels to achieve the following key objectives:
- Define the new infrastructure needed to move Hawaii to a clean energy economy.
- Foster and demonstrate innovation in the use of clean energy technologies, creative financing, and public policy to accelerate our transition to clean energy.
- Create economic opportunity by developing and diversifying Hawaii’s economy so all of us reap the benefits of a sustainable energy policy.
- Establish an “open source” learning model that supports other island communities seeking to achieve similar goals and makes Hawaii a world model for clean energy-based economies.
- Build our workforce with new skills that will form the foundation of an energy-independent Hawaii.
Taking the lead in a new project can be challenging. It often involves starting from scratch, persuading others to support your vision, and adapting your approach as you go. Despite these difficulties, the state and its stakeholders have made remarkable progress and have become an example for other states to emulate.
Here are a few of the themes that emerged during this event that covered diverse topics like utility scale power, energy resilience, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and grid modernization.
Energy Resilience
- The group highlighted the need to start from a common understanding of what resilience means. The definition used was the “capacity to withstand or recover from difficulties.”
- The state is leveraging building codes to deliver resilience. For example, legislation was passed in November 2023 requiring all new builds (commercial and residential) to be EV ready, PV ready. This requirement is setting the stage to help meet its 100% renewable energy targets.
- To push toward a market transformation, in addition to legislation, the state is adopting new building codes that cover the standard for window efficiency, LED lighting, etc. While some of these may seem like table stakes, they are huge in shifting the narrative for homes and businesses alike and empower each individual and household to make educated and thoughtful decisions about their energy use now and into the future.
- In the ongoing effort to adapt to climate change and meet sustainability challenges, Maui County is establishing a network of Resilience Hubs on the islands of Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi. Resilience Hubs are places where neighbors help neighbors, in good times and bad. During disruptions to everyday life (e.g. wildfire, flood, or storm). Resilience Hubs become a place of support, comfort, and communication. Operating out of facilities enhanced to withstand these conditions and provide a range of critical services, community-based organizations work within neighborhoods and surrounding areas both during the disruption and throughout the recovery period.
Cross-Department Collaboration & Community Partnerships
- Building relationships and trust takes time…something that not everyone seems to have. The need to move quickly is upon us and the partnership across public, private, and community stakeholders to engage and agree on a home electrification standard is one early win that has set the state up for success. From the Public Utilities Commission to electricity and gas companies, all parties have come together to row in the same direction.
- Community engagement isn’t easy but is desperately needed to streamline project development from idea to approval and implementation. Despite the success, everyone agreed that they still need to get better at communicating the benefits of renewable energy and equipping suppliers, owners, and community leaders with the right questions to ask to facilitate better alignment and gain buy-in. Without community, projects on the islands rarely make it from idea to installation.
Innovation
- A few sessions focused on distributed energy resources, the future of microgrids, and virtual power plants to facilitate resilience and reliability. Technological innovation is beginning across the islands, and outside of more mainstream investments, testing has started in the efficient use of hydrogen and geothermal.
- I’m not sure any of us think about community programs as innovative, but they definitely can be. Take Project Footprint as an example. It is funding various programs to educate the community on carbon reducing steps that each community member can take part in, from shorter showers to planting trees.
- One last comment on innovation that was an “aha” moment for me. While innovation is something we are doing every day, we think of “climate and energy as human health.” It’s something that has to be focused on today because the future is uncertain. We need to be thinking about living a safer, healthier life everyday instead of always pushing for a big, broad transformation. Even the little things make a difference.
Thank you to WCS’ friends at SEPA and SEIA for bringing the magic of RE+ to Hawaii and letting the leaders across the state share their successes, and failures so that the rest of us can get smarter on how to move fast through collaboration and “talking story.”
