Community Discussion: Reaching 100% Renewable Energy for Maui County

Wind mills at Kaheawa. PC: Maui Electric Company.

Maui Electric Company and Maui Tomorrow will host a community discussion, “Reaching 100% Renewable Energy for Maui County,” on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 at the University of Hawaiʽi Maui College, Science Building Lecture Hall (Ike 144).

The discussion will include information on the utility’s updated future energy plans that were proposed to the Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission in December.

Light refreshments will be served at 5 p.m. followed by the community discussion from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The forum will feature an overview of Maui Electric’s updated energy plans, and provide an opportunity for attendees to provide input and ask questions of Maui Electric and Maui Tomorrow representatives.

The recently updated plans filed with the PUC maps out a possible path for Maui, Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i to exceed the state’s renewable energy milestones – the most ambitious in the nation. It is a detailed plan charting the near-term actions that will lead to the use of renewable resources to meet 100 percent of Hawai‘i’s power generation needs by 2045.

“Our plans show that 100% renewable energy for Maui County can be accelerated and achieved,” said Sharon Suzuki, president of Maui Electric Company. “This is a huge undertaking that will require everyone – residents, government leaders, businesses, community and environmental groups – working together to refine and ensure a clean, reliable and affordable energy future for our islands.”

“For many years the discussion on Maui was about trying to get the utility to propose 100 percent renewable sources of electricity. Now it’s actually happened and we need people to give feedback on these plans,” said Doug McLeod, vice president of Maui Tomorrow.

The updated plan emphasizes work that is in progress or planned over the next five years on Maui, Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i as well as on O‘ahu and Hawai‘i Island.

For Maui County in the near-term, using a mix of technologies, such as solar, wind, battery storage and biofuels could help Moloka‘i achieve 100% renewable energy by 2020, Lāna‘i by 2030 and Maui by 2045 or sooner.

Speakers include:

Sharon Suzuki, Maui Electric, President
Todd Kanja, Hawaiian Electric, General Manager of System Planning
Ellen Nashiwa, Maui Electric, Manager of Customer Solutions & Planning
Mat McNeff, Maui Electric, Manager of Power Supply
Doug Mcleod, Maui Tomorrow, Vice President
Albert Perez, Maui Tomorrow, Executive Director