 Where Hawaii comes together to walk towards a clean, renewable and just energy future. I'm your host, Raya Salter. I'm an energy attorney, clean energy advocate and community outreach specialist. I'm also the principal attorney of Imagine Power LLC. So today, like we do most weeks, we're going to take a look at important energy and utility news from Hawaii around the country and the world, as reported in the last week. So first, let's take a look at what's been going on in clean energy and clean energy policy here in the islands. So one of the stories that I wanted to talk about is really some coverage from Green Biz that talks about how Hawaii aims for a 21st century way to electrify rural areas. So bringing electricity to homes, farms and businesses in rural areas is a challenge everywhere as the infrastructure costs of connecting buildings separated by miles easily can surpass potential revenues from those services. Indeed, this is partly why the US government stepped up in the first place to invest in rural electrification numerous times, starting with the Rural Electrification Act and the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s and still today with the Rural Utility Service. So worldwide, the majority of the 1 billion people without access to electricity live in rural and remote areas. It's a problem that vastly exacerbates the economic divide between the have and have nots. So this is a story that I really wanted to talk about because Green Biz was positioning Hawaii as taking steps to move forward and fix some of these rural access problems. And I think that that's true on many levels. I also think that in Hawaii, here where folks have some of the highest energy prices in the country, not only is there a problem in terms of affordability of energy access, there's also a problem of access that I think is there's not enough attention paid to. There are a lot of folks who are living off the grid, I think particularly in the big island without access to energy. And I think it's important that we also talk about transient populations in this context. We also talk about the homeless, folks who may live in mobile homes. To be without energy is a burden and with a focus on renewable distributed energy, this is a barrier that we should be able to meet. So I thought it was very interesting. There are a lot of great efforts that are happening here on distributed energy, on getting energy, non-traditional generation sort of empowering that to happen, microgrids, et cetera. I just thought that the characterization of the article from Green Biz and sort of Hawaii is taking really big steps to work on access. I thought was perhaps a little misleading. I think that there is not enough attention paid to the many people who do not have access. I also think, I understand that this is, you know, this is a lot also about freedom and choice. A lot of people who may live off the grid in many different types of housing, be it a tent, to a bamboo house, to a temporary house, be it legal or not, you know, maybe making a choice to be off the grid, maybe growing their own food. However, it is, I think, when we think about infrastructure and human life, it is important, I think, to remember that people do need to have, at least to be able to elect, to access energy, affordable energy and, in the best case, clean and affordable energy. So I think that infrastructure needs to be there to meet human need. There also is the potential for business opportunities for providers of that type of energy. And of course, these issues are also, you know, as they always are, connected with agriculture and water. You know, a lot of communities say on the Big Island, for instance, it might be living off the grid, maybe doing water, you know, rainwater catchment to use for water, but are prohibited from sharing that water then or selling that water to or for a small fee or for any fee to their neighbors. And there's a lot of reasons, good reasons, why, you know, we don't want folks starting up their water utilities. However, I think the infrastructure to meet the human need for populations is extremely important. I also think the article that I just mentioned was interesting because it talked about what is the government and what is the government responsibility or government interest in providing this infrastructure and what is the, what is the utilities interest or burden to provide this infrastructure. And when you look back at some of the early village electrification cases, there are some gaslight cases in New York, that is a lot about, that has a lot to do with what we, some people misnome the regulatory compact, you know, why do we have these businesses, these investor owned utilities that invest in our system and run our system of energy for us. Well, a big part of that is what they call the, the obligation to serve. So there is an obligation for the utility to invest in networks to provide access. And that's something that I think is still true and something that we, we, we need to remember as we've got this tension between people want to go off grid, people who want to do their own thing, people who want to self supply with clean energy or, or even with no energy, which I think is what a lot of people do here. No energy at all. What is, what does that mean in terms of what the, what the utility's responsibility is to serve them. So I wanted to talk about that, that a little bit in the context of the Green Biz article. It also is a good reminder, it's important I think for all of us to just try and stay as informed as possible with the range of sources and a range of articles. I think a lot of times different policy pieces that are happening get mentioned as packages that may not be having the actual substantive impact or even policy leadership impact that is sometimes being portrayed. And so that's why here we try and give you news. So let's move on. The County of Hawaii has won an environmental protection award. So this is cool for, for large cities. So the utility Hawaii, the Big Island, won this, won this award. Now the honorable, oh, sorry, the Large City Honorable Mention Award for Hawaii County, sorry, put it in the company of three other honorable mention winners, Cleveland, Ohio, Columbia, South Carolina, and Kaguas, Puerto Rico. The large city category is for cities or counties whose populations exceed 100,000. Only one other large city, first place winner, Long Beach, California, was in a tier above the honorable mention. So this is a big award. The mayor says, we are so happy for Hawaii County to be recognized by this nationwide award, Mayor Harry Kim on the Big Island. The La La Mila Wind Farm is reducing greenhouse gas emissions significantly and at no cost to water supplies customers. So five turbines officially opened for commercial operations at La La Mila Wind Farm last September in South Kahala, generating 3.3 megawatts of electricity with no export to the grid. It contributes to the clean energy goals of the state, as we know, we've got 100% by 2045, and is arguably the first time in Hawaii and perhaps the nation that a local government has developed such a wind-powered water pumping facility capable of significant greenhouse gas reductions at no cost to the taxpayer. La La Mila Wind Farm is located on 78 acres adjacent to eight Department of Water Supply water wells just north of Waikatoa. So I think this is exciting. It's always great when Hawaii is honored with the boards like this for doing substantive projects that have a real impact. So congratulations to Hawaii County. I think that that is wonderful and spectacular. I think it's sort of, when I look to prepare this show and I look at what are some of the big news stories that folks are talking about, I just, you know, the 2045 energy goal in Hawaii really does resonate nationwide. You've got quotes, you have people quoted by it. You have other cities and towns and states saying that they are inspired by it. And so it's great to have this 2045 goal. However, it does sort of have me thinking, you know, as cities and towns every day, every month continue to pile on and take on similar goals, what's next for Hawaii? I know there was some talk of 100% renewable transportation bill to make that a goal, and that's something that did not succeed this legislative session. And there are a lot of reasons why a bill like that can be problematic. But, well, a lot of reasons it can be problematic in that I'm supportive of 100% renewable transportation aspirations. But in the area of transportation, you don't have the authority to regulate that you have, say, for electricity. So in transportation, you can make it a desire that there be more renewable transportation or electric vehicles and electric vehicle infrastructures. But it's not something that the government can mandate in the same way that they can for utilities that they regulate. Can't sort of tell folks what kind of cars they can or cannot buy. I mean, you can, but I have a feeling that would be very controversial. So what's next? I would love to see Hawaii commit to government vehicles and mass transportation, like the buses, being renewable. I would love to see a commitment like that. I do think that there are ways to think about 100% transportation, and we should be thinking about that, and we should be analyzing that. So what is next? We've got these big goals. What is next? I think it's very interesting. And when I was at the Natural Resources Defense Council, there was a lot of discussion about the importance of aspirational goals, and there were folks in the Cuomo administration that didn't actually support them, because they felt that what was more important were to have goals based on what was feasibly doable via the technology. And while the argument on the other side is always, well, the technology is always changing, often we overshoot these goals, so we have to keep these goals really lofty. As we go forward, and we've got these goals, I think inevitably the focus begins to turn on how are we actually achieving them. So interesting stuff happening. We shall see what happens, but congratulations, Hawaii Island. Another important story. Governor David E. Gay on Thursday signed into law a bill authorizing the Department of Education to borrow up to $46.4 million through a green energy loan to reduce energy usage in its schools. Part of a broader initiative to air condition Hawaii's classrooms using $100 million appropriation signed last year, the interest-free loan will speed projects that increase energy efficiency and lower electricity costs in public schools. So Governor E. Gay says, we expect significant savings as this measure is implemented. This is what he said during the House Bill 957 ceremony Thursday at the state capitol. So the Education Department is authorized to install new AC units without costly electrical upgrades. The $46 million loan will enable the state to find ways to cut down on energy usage using those cost savings to pay off the loans. I think there are a few things to say about this measure and to say about this article as well in terms of how it is presented. As we know, or as many of us know, the money that is going to pay for these energy efficiency upgrades is actually coming from the GEMS program at the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority. So that program had about $100 million to make loans and has sort of struggled historically to make those loans. And although that money was slated for the underserved customer, so there's been sort of a jump in reasoning that the underserved customer also includes public schools since there are a lot of low to moderate income folks in the public schools. So Query, the fund that sort of were kind of mingling some pots and the money for GEMS that was intended for that program is now going to go for this purpose. Now I'm all for energy efficiency in the schools and I think it's fantastic and a great idea because the infrastructure itself needs to be upgraded. However, I think that the article that I just reported conflates the cooling the schools issues with the energy efficiency. Are they tied? Absolutely. What is the first thing that you want to go in and do when you have a building? You want to take care of the energy efficiency first. Does it make sense? Well, it can, but it can significantly lower the financial incentive to do any type of PV project if you've got leaks that can be taken care of by energy efficiency measures or you've got equipment and light bulbs that are using way too much energy. So it makes sense. Let's try and plug the holes. Lower energy usage, use those savings to help also finance these other things like PV. So that's fantastic. However, so in the long term, it could be that doing this energy efficiency in the school does assist with the cooling the schools program. But I don't know if we can really conflate those two issues. Doing energy efficiency upgrades in the schools is not going to cool the schools. And I don't think doing energy efficiency in the schools goes very far in terms of addressing the challenges in terms of why the $100 million that was made available to put air conditioners in the classroom is not there. So can you link them? Yes, because fundamentally, energy efficiency is what you want to do. However, these energy efficiency measures are not going to go. They're going to be more lighting upgrades, et cetera. They're not going to go deep in terms of real digging into the infrastructure and doing some of the work that needs to be done in the schools. It could potentially make putting in the air conditioners a winning proposition. So I'm not sure that those issues are really married together in terms of, are we going to see cooler schools in the near term? Now, Governor E. Gates says that he really wants to see these air conditioners in these schools by August. So I think all of us would love to see some relief for the students in the classrooms. And let's hope this moves forward. But will the energy efficiency measures in the schools save money? Yes. Are they a good idea? Yes. Are they going to necessarily address the hot schools issue? Yes. But in the near term, I think probably not. So lots of things happening. Of course, last week, we had Verge. And I wanted to highlight one of the interesting discussions that happened there in terms of Verge had a discussion about energy justice. So experts took the stage at Verge to talk about more equitable energy. They included Bien Trong of Green for All and other experts who came to talk about energy and energy equity. So one of the things they talked about is how can, what are some of the ways that we can have more equitable energy and have more equitable energy policy? Of course, this is something that I write about and study as well. So I was excited to hear that folks were talking about it. And I wanted to talk about what they called, or really the three steps to doing this. So one of them is accounting for community. So whether it's a city planning meeting or a civic climate task force, one of the dull but crucial elements of many public processes and a growing number of social responsibility efforts is defining who is encompassed by the term community. So for the purposes of official engagement, this inherently broad group is too often distilled into a sample, this representative group. So this is something that rose McKinney-James, managing principle of the consultancy of many James associates. Second is overhauling community engagement. So this has long been a buzzword for both officials and folks in corporate responsibility. But the problem is, is that you can build a website or plan a public meeting, but it doesn't mean you're going to necessarily have meaningful interaction with people who stand by to be impacted by a given proposal. So McKinney-James pointed to a Las Vegas hospitality and casino giant M&M GM project as an example of a company asking employees to help identify ways for the company to engage on sustainability issues that may be outside the purview of executives. Still, Vien Trong said, being relatable isn't something environmental groups, often cast by opponents as energy elitists, have always been able to achieve as effectively as their counterparts in high emission industries. Coal companies, they pass out backpacks right before school starts, Trong said. The threat is there, but also the opportunity is there. So what's another thing that can be done? Well, we can explain energy justice. Laying out the real world implications of climate change is a struggle with many audiences. So add in local development politics and the inherently complicated nature of renewable energy in many locales and conversations about how to address climate concerns can get murky. Still, from rooftop solar and rental housing to electric car sharing in low-income neighborhoods, pilot projects are underway that stand to make a broader impact than stereotypically niche clean energy projects. So we're going to take a break and we'll be right back with PowerUp Hawaii in just a minute. Aloha. My name is Steven Phillip Katz. I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist, and I'm the host of Shrink Wrap Hawaii, where I talk to other shrinks. Did you ever want to get your head shrunk? Well, this is the best place to come to pick one. I've been doing this. We must have 60 shows with a whole bunch of shrinks that you can look at. I'm here on Tuesdays at 3 o'clock every other Tuesday. I hope you are too. Aloha. This guy looks familiar. He calls himself the ultra fan, but that doesn't explain all this. Why? Why? He planned this party, planned the snacks, even planned to coordinate colored shirts, but he didn't plan to have a good time. Now you wouldn't do this in your own house, so don't do it in your team's house. Know your limits and plan ahead so that everyone can have a good time. Hi, and welcome back to PowerUp Hawaii, where Hawaii comes together to walk towards a clean, renewable, and just energy future. I'm your host, Raya Salter. And we were just talking about the equity discussion that happened at Verge last week. So we talked about some of the ways that communities can, some of the ways that we can have more inclusive energy policy processes is really, I think, what was being discussed there. And how are communities authentically engaged? I think this is a challenging issue always. It's a big part of a lot of the work that I did when I was in New York City with the Natural Resources Defense Council. We worked with several groups, including New York State, to sort of develop some pipelines so that a broader segment of community stakeholders could have a bigger voice in energy policy. And we could really broaden out to get more community input. But the problems just, or the challenges just start there. What happens then? You start wanting to broaden the pot. But the idea of authentic representation inherently is, I think, a challenging concept to begin with. So just because you have a group together calling themselves people for renewable energy for everybody, that represents maybe 10 groups. Does that mean you have an authentic representation of society? So there really are some challenges in sort of how you bring in additional stakeholders. But at the same time, it's as easy as bringing in additional stakeholders, having more public meetings, listening to feedback, and committing to walking forward processes that can be more inclusive. I think one of the important policies there is intervener compensation. That's something that they have in California. So if you are a nonprofit that is doing substantive advocacy before, say, the Public Utilities Commission, then you are an entity that is eligible to seek reimbursement for your fees and costs from the state up to a certain level. So the state actually gives community groups and folks money to participate in these processes. And I, to be totally honest with you, I think that type of stuff is 100% step one. So they talked about community engagement. They talked about also explaining energy justice, which fundamentally is, hey guys, these are some of the issues that are happening. Raising awareness about the high cost of energy and ways to reduce it and ways to keep officials accountable to the interests of low income consumers and all consumers, the people who actually use the power. Excellent that we're having that type of discussion. And let's just go ahead and see it go forward. So more city leadership on clean energy. So mayors are committing to renewable energy goals. The US Conference of Mayors on Monday approved a resolution supporting a 100% renewable energy goal by 2035 and launched the Ready for 100 campaign to support the utilization of more clean power. The group of more than 250 US mayors also passed resolutions to support vehicle electrification, energy efficiency grants, and city driven plans to reverse climate change. The resolutions are symbolic and represent statements of intent for city planning and work of federal and state governments. So interest in renewables is already running high in cities. So many studies, including one by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, found almost 70% of responding cities already generate or purchase some clean energy. And more than 20% are considering the option. And more than 60% are buying low emissions vehicles for fleets. So hey, super exciting. Again, we've got 2035 now. So cities are coming together to say, how can we really do some near term stuff we're talking about in our lifetimes? Can we move to clean energy? And this is fantastic. I think it also calls into question again. What's next for Hawaii? How does Hawaii begin to substantively start implementing a lot of the high level aspirational policy that it has led throughout the nation? So I think it's super interesting to see what is going to be next. There's a great story about New Hampshire and a new approach to net metering that I think, gosh, I wish I'd almost talked about it first, because it's, I think, important in that. New Hampshire took a new approach that really sought to bring stakeholders together to put an interim net metering policy in place as they move forward to look at a new distributed energy resources pricing model. But I don't think we're going to get to that. So instead, I'm going to say goodbye for this week. And thank you so much for tuning in to Power Up Hawaii. Thank you so much.