RE: Urgent Request to VETO SB 2510 CD1
Dear Governor Ige:
On behalf of my employees and customers, I am writing to urge you to veto SB 2510 CD1, which would impose anti-market quotas and caps on renewable energy deployment in Hawaii and establish an overly-stringent and unreasonable definition for “firm renewable generation.”
Hawaii Pacific Solar has been in business since 2008 and specializes in commercial and industrial photovoltaic development and installation as well as EV charging stations throughout Hawaii. We have survived many challenges over the past few years and are just now ramping back up to pre-covid levels. With the support of government programs and our loyal customers we were able to maintain employment levels and keep our doors open. Now is not the time to create more challenges for our company or industry. Any management of the grid and the determination of what mix of renewables are appropriate should be left up to the experts at the utility and the PUC not legislators.
If enacted and enforced, this bill will inflict serious damage on the solar and renewable energy industry, raise costs for all ratepayers and residents at a time when we are already facing high inflation and an affordability crisis, and put the State’s renewable energy, resilience, and economic recovery goals in jeopardy. The bill arbitrarily “picks winners” by favoring high-cost and high-emission biomass or biofuels projects over every other renewable resource, including rooftop solar and storage. It quashes free enterprise and technological innovation and takes away critical flexibility for policy-makers, planners, and market participants to achieve Hawaii’s climate and renewable energy goals in the most economical and efficient manner possible. This flawed bill would be a major setback for solar and battery storage installations at all scales on all of our islands as we are beyond or quickly approaching the arbitrary 45% cap depending on how it is defined.
We humbly ask you to VETO SB 2510 CD1 when it comes to your desk for consideration.
Respectfully yours,
Bob Johnston
President