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This summary is part of Beyond the Beltway: A Report on State Energy and Climate Policies produced by the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at Berkeley Law
In June 2017, Hawaii adopted Senate Bill 559, endorsing the goals of the Paris Agreement and reinforcing its efforts to deal with climate change. Hawaii has an impressive record in this area.
Hawaii has passed the most aggressive renewable portfolio standard in the country, requiring 100% of the state’s power to be generated by renewable sources by 2045.[1] Hawaii counts a wide range of energy sources as renewable: solar, wind, hydroelectric, biofuels, geothermal, rooftop solar, biomass crops, agricultural and animal residues and wastes, and municipal solid waste.[2] In addition, it counts combined heat and power, allowing utilities to deem “renewable” the usable heat that is created by a commercial enterprise’s on-site natural gas generator, for example.
Hawaii has its work cut out for it. As of 2016 it got over 75% of its electricity from fossil fuel sources (with nearly 25% renewable, including rooftop distributed generation). The good news is that use of renewable energy has increased rapidly, from 950 gigawatt-hours (GWhs) to about 2500 GWhs between 2010 and 2016. According to the Energy Information Administration, Hawaii has the highest electricity production from distributed solar, and solar energy generated 35% of Hawaii’s renewable electricity. It also has the fourth-lowest per capita energy use in the nation. But obviously, there is a lot more work to do.
Hawaii has good reason to be concerned about climate change. Hawaii is facing a series of climate impacts, including increases in air temperature, especially at high altitudes; decreased stream base flow; decreases in rainfall and rain intensity, with longer periods of days without rain; rising sea levels; ocean acidification; and increased sea surface temperature, leading to more frequent and severe coral bleaching events.[3]
One interesting approach to adaptation has been taken by Kauai County. It established a building setback based on the average annual erosion rate and a planning period of 70 to 100 years, plus a buffer of 40 feet. With some exceptions, development within the setback line is prohibited.
Hawaii’s total contribution to global carbon emissions is small. But if it succeeds in moving away from its heavy dependence, it will be forging a path for others to follow.
- Anne C. Mulkern, “How to hit 100% clean? Hawaii, Calif. offer different answers,” E&E News (September 5, 2017), https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/09/05/stories/1060059627.
- Ibid.
- University of Hawaii at Manoa Sea Grant College Program, “Climate Change Impacts in Hawaii” (2014), http://seagrant.soest.hawaii.edu/sites/default/files/publications/smfinal-hawaiiclimatechange.pdf.