Kylie Wager Cruz, Attorney, Mid-Pacific Office, Earthjustice: “HECO had a long time to begin planning for what the transition would look like.”

Kylie Wager Cruz, Attorney, Mid-Pacific Office: “We strongly supported shutting down the coal plant. That facility needed to go. What we do with that loss of capacity is the key question.”

Isaac Moriwake, Managing Attorney, Mid-Pacific Office, Earthjustice: “This is a first installment of the next big wave of rooftop solar and battery storage.”

Interview with Kylie Wager Cruz, Attorney, Mid-Pacific Office, Earthjustice

Kylie Wager Cruz, Attorney, Mid-Pacific Office, Earthjustice: “HECO should take responsibility for the crisis it’s caused and focus on ensuring [the project] realizes its full potential to maximize renewable energy on the grid and minimize Hawai’i’s dependence on fossil fuels. Instead, HECO’s threatening to pull the plug on the project, put all the risk on…

Kylie Wager Cruz, Attorney, Mid-Pacific Office, Earthjustice: “The commission did all it could do considering the circumstances,”

Hawaiʻi is blessed with abundant sun and wind, but the state has historically relied on imported oil for virtually all of its energy needs. In recent years, rooftop solar has become a potential “game changer” for Hawaiʻi’s energy independence, and Earthjustice is working to clear the path for clean energy to become a major part…

Kylie Wager Cruz, Attorney, Mid-Pacific Office, Earthjustice: "We've seen in the past when there's been an unanticipated shortfall, that we've had to resort to other types of utility-scale fossil-based extensions or additions — and so I think the commission is really focused on not letting that happen."

Isaac Moriwake, Managing Attorney, Mid-Pacific Office, Earthjustice: "This is the most consequential decision in the commission’s history in terms of its comprehensive scope and leadership vision."

Before the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Hawaii. Docket No. 2018-0088

Breaks from the century-old system where utility profits were based on how much capital the utility spends

By this Final Decision and Order,^ the Public Utilities Commission (“commission”) approves a change in rates for HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC., as described herein. The commission determines that the appropriate return on common equity (“ROE”) for the 2017 calendar test year (“2017 Test Year”) is 9.50%, which reflects the commission’s approval of the Parties’ stipulated settlement agreements filed on November 15, 2017, and March 5, 2018.^

Hawai‘i’s largest electric utility will partially share in the costs of fossil fuels it uses to generate electricity

Declares due process interest in right to a clean and healthful environment

In this 194-page order, the Public Utility Commission established two new programs for rooftop solar in Hawaiʻi, including a “smart export” program that allows customers an opportunity to store solar energy during peak sun hours and provide energy to the grid at later times, when demand on the grid is higher. This “smart export” option is a first step toward a future in which customer-owned DER can more dynamically interact with the grid and further contribute to building a cleaner, less costly, and more resilient electric system.

New “smart export” program offers first step toward next generation of solar-plus-battery systems

Although the benefits of renewables are simple to understand, navigating the terminology of energy policy is a more difficult task. Here’s a quick guide to understanding the key players, practices, and policies that influence clean energy growth in the United States.

The Public Utilities Commission rejected the NextEra-Hawaiian Electric takeover deal, but the real work to build a clean energy system by and for the people of Hawaii has just begun.