Hawai‘i
Governor
Josh Green (Democrat)
House Party
Democratic Supermajority
Senate Party
Democratic Supermajority
Key Offices & Links
26
41
West
Progress by Policy Area
- Enacted Enacted policies have been passed or established in a state by a governing body via legislation, executive orders, rules, regulations, and/or other program creation, and remain in effect.
- In-progress In progress policies have been established in a state, but final regulations, rules, or plans are pending final approval. This also includes legislation and executive orders that require regulations to be put into effect.
- Partially Enacted Partially enacted policies have been enacted in the state, but are missing one or more policy components. Dashboard policies cannot be considered partially enacted unless policy components are available.
- Not Enacted Not enacted policies have not been passed or established in the state or are no longer in effect.
Climate Policies in Hawai‘i
| Status | Policy | Policy Area | Policy Category | Year Enacted | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enacted |
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40% renewable energy by 2030 | 70% by 2040 | 100% by 2045 Executive Order 25-01 calls for the counties of Hawaiʻi, Kauaʻi, and Maui to achieve 100% renewable electricity production by 2035, and for Oʻahu to reduce its electricity sector emissions 70% below 2005 levels by 2035. Establishing Policies
|
Electricity
|
Energy Plans and Targets | 2025 | |
| Enacted |
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Oʻahu county to achieve 70% reduction by 2035 relative to 2005 levels Establishing Policies
|
Electricity
|
Energy Plans and Targets | 2025 | |
| Enacted |
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The Public Utilities Commission is required to evaluate Hawaii’s RPS every five years and report its findings to the Legislature. The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is required to implement a plan to transition the State to a clean energy economy. State of Hawai‘i Report to the 2024 Legislature on Hawaii’s Renewable Portfolio Standards Establishing Policies
|
Electricity
|
Energy Plans and Targets | 2023 | |
| Not Enacted |
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States can establish some form of statewide, consolidated siting and permitting entity — typically a council or board — for renewables and/or transmission to streamline project review and prevent uncertainty in the face of local governments’ restrictions or prohibitions of renewable generation or transmission. |
Electricity
|
Permitting and Grid Integration | ||
| Enacted |
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Hawaii received a C grade from Freeing the Grid. Establishing Policies
|
Electricity
|
Permitting and Grid Integration | 2023 | |
| Not Enacted |
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Advanced transmission technologies (ATTs) and grid enhancing technologies (GETs) are a family of technologies that can enhance the capacity of the existing electrical transmission and distribution system. State policies that promote ATTs and GETs can be key to unlocking renewable energy development at lower cost and with shorter wait times. |
Electricity
|
Permitting and Grid Integration | ||
| Partially Enacted |
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The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Policy Components
5/11
|
Electricity
|
Permitting and Grid Integration | ||
| Partially Enacted |
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The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Policy Components
4/6
|
Electricity
|
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources | ||
| Not Enacted |
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Community choice aggregation allows local governments to procure power on behalf of their residents, businesses, and municipal accounts from an alternative supplier while still receiving transmission and distribution service from their existing utility provider. |
Electricity
|
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources | ||
| Not Enacted |
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The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Policy Components
0/5
|
Electricity
|
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources | ||
| Not Enacted |
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Energy storage targets establish procurement targets for energy storage systems by a certain date, often with interim targets. Targets can vary from broad megawatt (MW) requirements to more specific mandates that focus on the adoption of certain storage technologies. |
Electricity
|
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources | ||
| Enacted |
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The public utilities commission is prohibited from issuing or renewing permits for covered source facilities that burn coal for electricity generation after December 31, 2022. Establishing Policies
|
Electricity
|
Coal Retirement | 2020 | |
| Not Enacted |
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Coal securitization is a financing tool that allows utility companies to refinance debt they issued to build coal plants and close the facilities early without taking a financial hit or passing costs on to ratepayers. |
Electricity
|
Coal Retirement |