Oʻahu Needs More Solar, Not New Power Plants
An analysis of Oʻahu's energy future argues that investing in more solar power is a better strategy than building new power plants, highlighting the island's abundant solar resource and the economic and environmental benefits of renewable energy over fossil fuel-based generation.
Background
- Civil Beat is a nonprofit, independent news outlet covering Hawaiʻi; it often criticizes the state's dominant utility, Hawaiian Electric (HECO).
- Hawaiian Electric has long relied on fossil-fuel plants (oil and coal) and has been slow to integrate renewables, drawing frustration from residents and climate advocates.
- Oʻahu (the most populous Hawaiian island) gets much of its electricity from the AES coal plant, which is scheduled to close in 2022, and from oil-burning generators.
- The piece argues that instead of building new fossil-fuel or biomass power plants, Oʻahu should massively scale up rooftop and utility-scale solar paired with battery storage — a faster, cheaper, cleaner path already proven on other islands.
- This debate reflects a broader tension in Hawaiʻi between the utility's centralized grid model and the state's legally binding goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2045.