Red tape strangling Hawaii's energy future

by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D., President / CEO, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

State lawmakers have set the lofty goal of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045. But even if we assume this goal is desirable, other state policies stand in the way.

As my Grassroot Institute of Hawaii colleague Joe Kent pointed out during a presentation at last week’s Hawaii Energy Conference, there are at least a dozen layers of regulation that stifle energy innovation in Hawaii, making it extremely difficult for entrepreneurs to proceed with their plans to install alternative energy sources such as solar power plants.

The result, Joe said, has been 15 canceled renewable energy projects over the past five years — more than half of such initiatives proposed for Hawaii.

Exacerbating the situation is that Hawaii will retire dozens of existing power generators in the coming years due to their age and lack of available replacement parts. That means no matter how you slice it, Hawaii is unlikely to reach its energy goals by 2045.

And it's not just me saying this. The state Public Utilities Commission stated this past December that Hawaiian Electric Co.’s timeline for building new power facilities “may not be realistic” because “some projects may withdraw or delay reaching commercial operation for a variety of reasons.”

The sad truth is that if the state officials truly want to ensure enough energy for Hawaii’s needs, they will have to remove or mitigate the many obstacles to new energy development.

It’s kind of like the problem we face with homebuilding in Hawaii, right? State officials from the governor on down want badly to increase Hawaii’s housing supply, but even the governor’s emergency housing proclamations have been unable to quickly get the state and counties out of their own ways.

Developing alternative energy plants in Hawaii is no different. The many regulatory layers include dealing with the State Land Use Commission, environmental reviews, air-quality permits, water permits, community plans, island plans, county zoning and permitting, the state Public Utilities Commission, several federal legal hurdles and, of course, the usual opposition from “not in my backyard” or NIMBY groups.

Abundant energy at lower prices is within our reach if only we would reduce regulatory requirements, quicken the permitting processes and reduce the ability of NIMBY groups to call the shots.

Under current circumstances, however, it’s not far-fetched to expect energy shortages soon, with rolling blackouts becoming a regular, highly disruptive part of our lives.

The good news is that we already know what must be done. As with Hawaii’s housing crisis, all we need is the political will to do it.

E hana kākou! (Let's work together!)