All hands on deck!

The Pono Power Coalition contested case hearing against the Paeahu Solar Project to be located in between Maui Meadows and Kula was held last week at the Maui Tech Park. What does it mean when 50,000 solar panels are installed 250 ft away from our communities? Is this a small price to pay for our state's path to 100% renewable energy independence or an eye sore that should be located elsewhere? This show brings all the participants together, the PUC, the Consumer Advocate, the utility itself.. Hawaiian Electric Companies, the developer, Innergex, as well as the plaintiff, the Pono Power Coalition. Thought provoking questions are raised! Is VPP and distributed customer sited solar an alternative to utility scale solar? Was the use of one common attorney by the many developers a violation of anti-trust laws? Is our community getting the best deal possible for this energy? Should the RFP process itself bring in community members' perspectives earlier when considering solar farm locations? Will our community be able to meet its RPS milestones if this level of public scrutiny is received on the many other projects ahead of us in RFP Phase 2? Change is upon us folks. Tune in to get your daily dose of utility scale Sunshine controversy!!!

Hear a recorded field interview takeaway with Innergex representative Eddie Park post hearing and a call-in by Pono Power Coalition representative Carolann Barrows. Consumer advocate declined comment while both the Public Utility Commission and Maui Electric issued statements as listed below:

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PUC

The following is a statement from Hawaii Public Utilities Commission Chair James Griffin:

“The parties and participants may file post-hearing briefs two weeks after the hearing transcript is completed. The PUC will notify the parties when the transcript has been filed with the Commission. The PUC will issue a decision after receiving the briefs and no timeline has been set for the decision.”

Thank you and have a great weekend!

Jodi

Jodi Endo Chai

Executive Officer

State of Hawaii - Public Utilities Commission

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Aloha Josh,

Nice chatting with you over the phone and thank you for your email. The Consumer Advocate’s office does not have any further comment to add to which was already made on record into the docket. If you have any specific questions for this, we can answer them at a later time (with more lead time would be appreciated, too). 😊

Have a great show!

Mahalo,

Jessica Chillingworth

Education Specialist

State of Hawaii, DCCA – Division of Consumer Advocacy

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Hi Josh!

Thanks for your phone message today!

"Paeahu Solar is a good project that will provide benefits to all of our customers and it will help accelerate the transition from imported fossil fuels to local renewable energy.

Throughout this process, Innergex has done extensive community outreach.

The developer also listened to concerns about the location of the project by moving it even further than it already was, which was already further than the required setback under county regulations.

Maui Electric recognizes siting any kind of energy project on an island is challenging because space is limited. There will always be tradeoffs and even more renewable energy projects are coming. If we’re serious about taking action on climate change and getting off fossil fuels, we all have to work together to manage the tradeoffs.

There will be no perfect choice. Waiting for the perfect project at the perfect price in the perfect location isn’t realistic if we are going to make any significant progress in replacing fossil fuels and meeting our clean energy goals."

Thanks again!

SHAYNA DECKER

Manager, Communications

Maui Electric

PO Box 398 / Kahului, Maui, HI 96733-6898

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