Bills on our radar
SB1247 SD1: Requires the Hawaiʻi State Energy Office to enter into a public-private partnership to develop a waste-to-energy (WTE) generating facility.
Benefits: none
Concerns: WTE is a misnomer and is better labeled as what it actually is, incineration, which increases risk of environmental and health threats. According to a fact sheet on incinerator myths from the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, that draws upon peer reviewed life-cycle assessment of waste management, three to five more times of energy can be saved “through alternative strategies such as waste prevention, reuse, recycling, and composting than can be generated by burning.” Check out our main squeeze article for more!
Status: Passed first reading and awaiting second hearing in Ways and Means before crossover. FYI the *HB version was deferred.
SB72 SD2: changes the decision-making timeline for the Public Utilities Commission to render decisions on certain renewable projects and exempts certain power purchase agreement amendments from the Public Utilities Commission review and approval process in certain circumstances.
Benefits: The intent of this measure is to expedite the development and commissioning of renewable energy projects to meet our energy goals. The PUC itself has made comments throughout the hearing that warn how provisions within are not only unnecessary, but potentially harmful to the general public, including ratepayers.
Concerns: The Consumer Advocate in their testimony has said the bill would not affect the timing of clean renewable energy projects that are built by the utility or subject to a purchased power agreement. It would apply instead to some complex rate filings and large energy projects, where six months generally does not allow sufficient time for the PUC and consumer representatives to obtain information, develop positions, and issue decisions. Utilities and project developers would benefit from the lack of review in a truncated six month review period, while ratepayers would suffer.
Status: Passed both Senate committee hearings. Awaits crossover March 9.
HB654 HD2: State Buildings; Hawaiʻi State Energy Office; ENERGY STAR; Building Benchmarking Program; Benchmarking Data; Reporting; Appropriation ($)
Benefits: Data transparency is a pillar of effective energy and water efficiency and conservation efforts. We hope this leadership from the state will be a first step towards more widespread adoption in the private sector. This is especially critical for high consumption urban areas and sectors, such as tourism, and targeting reduction.
HB239 HD1- Requires the clean energy initiative program to design, implement, and administer a plan to increase jobs aligned with the State's transition to a clean energy economy and strategies for evaluating and supporting a transition to a clean energy economy that advances social equity.
Benefits: This bill was written to “establish social equity as a foundational principle in the State's efforts to strengthen climate resilience.” It also creates measures that focus on expanding workforce development training for workers in carbon-intensive jobs, which are typically unionized. In order to ensure a Just Transition, all workers must be included and the type of jobs created in the clean energy sector respect workers rights, offer a living wage, and workplace safety.
Additionally, The Sierra Club suggests a friendly amendment to explicitly support the creation of new jobs around the recycling or reuse of renewable energy infrastructure, which can mitigate long-term impacts on our landfills, while also realizing additional economic benefit in our transition to a clean and “circular” economy. For example, the International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that the U.S. could create up to 10 million tons of solar panel waste by 2050. Fortunately, since up to 80% of the materials that solar panels are composed of can be reused, there are already circular initiatives underway to divert solar panels from the waste stream
HB329 HD2- Requires solar conduit and electrical panel readiness for new residential construction offered for sale at fair market value and electric vehicle readiness when an electrical panel and parking area are installed.
Benefits: Requiring new homes to be built with certain baseline solar and EV readiness requirements creates more climate-resilient development and lowers the cost to achieve Hawaii’s renewable energy goals. It also makes the benefits of renewable energy more accessible to income constrained communities that have not been able to benefit from the long term savings of renewable energy.
SB781 SD1- which will help to enhance our islands’ climate resiliency by helping to expand our distributed renewable energy infrastructure in a timely and equitable manner through online permitting tools.
Benefits: The provisions contained in this measure, including those requiring the use of readily available app technology and empowering licensed professionals to self-certify solar and energy storage products, can reduce the cost, time, and risk in realizing the benefits of greater distributed renewable energy infrastructure throughout the islands. The Sierra Club appreciates that this measure may also particularly benefit those that have not yet been able to install or participate in a solar and energy storage project.