Hawai’i leading the way on clean energy
Posted on Jan 30, 2020 in Capitol Connection, Featured
The governor and company leaders turned out for the HECO-Clearway solar blessing, which will generate enough electricity for use by about 18,000 O’ahu homes each year.
How do we sustain our economy, our lifestyle and our natural environment? We do it first by developing clean energy sources. With a flurry of commercial solar projects in the pipeline and local homeowners’ enthusiasm for residential solar power, we will exceed our 2020 goal of attaining 30 percent of our energy needs from renewable sources.
A GEM$ program helped Highway Inn owners Monica Toguchi Ryan and Russell Rylan install solar panels on their restaurant.
The significance of this initial pivot to clean and renewable energy cannot be overstated. We have become a leader in this effort, and our actions have inspired other states to follow. Since we set a goal to become carbon negative by 2045, four other states have followed our lead. So far, we have successfully reduced our greenhouse gas emissions and will meet our goal for 2020. And our utilities are meeting our clean electricity goals faster and at record low prices.
Today, 37 percent of Oʻahu’s single-family residences have rooftop solar. On certain days, Kauaʻi is already achieving 100 percent of electricity from clean energy sources, decades ahead of when we thought this would be possible. We will continue to aggressively engage in actions that will continue to decarbonize our economy and make our environment whole.