The main squeeze: Hawaiʻi Energy Policy Forum Recap - Molokaʻi CERAP Shines

On January 12th, the Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute hosted the annual Energy Policy Forum at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. It was a gathering of energy professionals, elected leaders, students, advocates, and community- all eager to hear the focus of this year’s legislative session. It was the 20th anniversary of the legislative briefing which brought out major energy players like David Turk from the Department of Energy as a keynote speaker and hosted some critical discussions around addressing nationwide energy goals. 

Although there could have been more explicit conversation around energy equity, it was good to hear Mr. Turk share his belief that 2023 is a “magic moment” to create a historic clean energy revolution- it all comes down to leadership, partnership, and execution. Right now, the US Dept. of Energy has a $100 billion dollar budget focused on creating jobs, lowering energy costs, and saving people that “got screwed in the past.”  As much as the energy revolution is about addressing climate destabilization at the scale and pace necessary, the magic moment includes righting historical wrongs; i.e., where policy (in)action went wrong in the past. In a space where technological innovation is often the focus on decarbonization, it is encouraging that Turk acknowledged equity and justice in the administration's agenda. 

Newly elected Governor Josh Green followed Turk and gave several funding commitments to climate action, rapidly escalating renewable efforts while we have strong alignment with the federal government and our Congressional delegation. Green also made an interesting note for battery manufacturing as a potential to boost the economy on Hawaiʻi Island when Turk mentioned it on a panel they both sat on. We can only hope the Governor not only can fulfill his funding promises but also holds true to his light mention of how “everything we do in Hawaiʻi needs to be informed by Hawaiian culture.” You can listen to opening speeches and panel with Turk and Green here. 

Although there were several panels held throughout the day, one certainly stood out among the others in alignment with our values in energy equity, justice, and deep democracy: Malama ‘Āina: Place and Value-Based Energy Planning & Deployment. Amongst the featured speakers was Leilani Chow, Sustʻāinable Molokai and the coordinator for The Molokaʻi Clean Energy Hui (MCEH), an independent community-led group, committed to help Molokaʻi become a sustainable, clean energy community, Alex De Roode, Former Maui Energy Commissioner who was a key partner in implementing much of the Molokai Clean Energy Resilience Plan (CERAP) during his time at the county and Noel Morin, Chair of Sustainable Energy Hawai’i, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on affordable energy for Hawaiʻi Island residents. The panel stood out for having a transformative conversation on equitable energy planning and identifying pathways to allow much needed input from the and impacted communities centered. Other panels mentioned the need for inclusive dialogue in energy, this panel demonstrated the value and success it has on residents, agencies, and even developers to meet our renewable energy goals.

Molokaʻi’s CERAP efforts embody the solution to a core issue in energy planning, as Leilani shared, “the energy decision-making process was a problem in itself for Molokaʻi residents.” Leilani facilitates the group’s work on energy conservation, renewable energy, and clean transportation options for the island. In her own words, she works “to make residents the experts of their grid.” The CERAP program set out to create an alternative approach, one that is rooted in social justice, cultural rights, aloha ʻāina, and addressing energy cost burdens for residents. Their process began as a series of community outreach opportunities that reached an impressive 3,000 residents across the island. Their goal was to gauge common (mis)understandings of energy related issues on Molokaʻi and compile a database of FAQs to document how people wanted to be engaged in energy planning (i.e., through digital or physical surveys and how often meetings should be held). This understanding of the community became a critical first step in building relationships with agencies like the Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) and the County- partnering technological and legal expertise with community expertise. 

In a “magic moment” where working at the speed of the problem, or at least meeting the 2045 mandate, is the goal it was refreshing to hear Alex De Roode say that “it’s ok to slow down and give the community time to catch up”, understand their options alongside their immediate and long term impacts. Those that aim to partner with the community need to come with an openness to change: the birthplace of true community co-creation is deep conservation that leads to new ideas and plans for change.. That’s where the real magic happens. This sentiment was echoed by Noel Morin who described a situation with a Kohala transmission line project. When HECO met with community leaders of the area, they ended up changing to a storage project that fulfilled the needs of the utility and respected the cultural and environmental values held by nearby residents. 

There was so much wonderful manaʻo shared throughout this panel. I wish it was recorded, but I encourage you to at least visit the Molokai CERAP site for an epic amount of resources and videos on their work! 

Conclusion: takeaways and what we look forward to

The Hawaiʻi Energy Legislative briefing was a day fully packed with a series and panels and speakers covering a variety of topics. It would be impossible to capture it all adequately. Since energy justice and equity are our focus, that’s what we highlighted. I hope the words and work shared inspire you to think more deeply and creatively on your role in the energy sphere. The days of energy conversations being dominated by technological expertise are slowly ending and there is more and more emphasis on inclusivity, diverse perspectives, and the recognition of mutual expertise between community and energy professionals. There is a need and a place for all of us!