Legislative Policy
The Blue Planet Foundation employs an influencing model that seeks to generate maximum return across community, business, policy, and technology sectors. Blue Planet is working to fill gaps in the current clean energy efforts in Hawaii and seeks solutions to overcoming barriers that prevent greater adoption of clean energy, energy efficiency, and achievement of a fossil fuel-free Hawaii. Our legislative accomplishments include:
- Actively lobbied the legislature to pass bold clean energy policies, including a first-in-the-nation carbon tax to provide millions annually for clean energy programs.
- Directly engaged more than 300 legislative policy individuals.
- Hosted successful public events with thousands of participants, including a rally at the State Capitol with Governor Lingle speaking, Henry Kapono performing (entirely solar-powered), and significant student presence
- Sent three University of Hawaii students to Washington, D.C. for Powershift09 and successfully engaged them as volunteers and advocates.
- Successfully executed legislative marketing efforts, including a full-page newspaper ad featuring Governor Lingle, Congresswoman Hirono, Congressman Abercrombie, Jack Johnson, and many others.
- Brought in more than $200,000 of federal money to support Hawaii's rural businesses for clean energy projects.
- Intervened as a party in six Public Utilities Commission rulemaking dockets, bringing together intervener parties and bringing expert witnesses to testify, helping to establish one of the nation’s first feed-in tariffs.
We are also actively involved in legal proceedings designed to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. These contested case proceedings, or “mini-trials,” are conducted by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission and involve Hawaiian Electric, state agencies, renewable energy providers, and others. Blue Planet is an official party to these proceedings to advocate for Hawaii’s swift transition to a clean energy economy. The focus of these proceedings is to open up access to the electric grid and pay renewable energy providers a fair rate, “decouple” utility revenues from sales of electricity, examine a proposed utility program for solar power systems, and update Hawaii’s integrated resource planning process. These proceedings also seek to implement the landmark Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative and Energy Agreement.
