Hawaii Energy Policy Forum > What is the Forum?
What is the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum?
The Hawaii Energy Policy Forum ("Forum") is dedicated to achieving the vision of “Smart energy solutions to sustain a healthy prosperous, and secure Hawaii.” It is an organization representing diverse interests from the electric utilities, oil and natural gas suppliers, environmental and community groups, renewable energy industry, academia, labor, and federal, state and local government. The Forum is administered by the Social Sciences Public Policy Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The HEPF’s mission is to facilitate the achievement of the preferred energy vision by:
- Establishing a forum for sharing information and diverse viewpoints to:
- Reach understanding;
- Identify common ground for collaborative action; and
- Present options for informed decision-making to implement the energy vision.
- Establishing policies and relationships among members to:
- Raise the level of trust, knowledge, and public information; and
- Support implementation of the energy vision.
- Promoting civic participation in implementing the energy vision and actions.
Background
In May 2002, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, as part of its Hawaii Energy Policy Project, convened major energy stakeholders in Hawaii to develop an energy vision for Hawaii through the year 2030, and to formulate a strategy consistent with its implementation. This advisory group became known as the “Hawaii Energy Policy Forum.” It recognized a looming crisis in meeting Hawaii’s long term energy needs, deliberated on a strategic energy plan for Hawaii and explored relevant issues and constraints in achieving it. The Forum commissioned scientific studies to obtain baseline information and to review various environmental, regulatory, economic, and social and cultural issues relating to Hawaii’s energy structure. These studies were integral in providing a science and fact-based approach to developing the Forum’s policy agenda.
In December 2003, the Forum convened the Hawaii Energy Policy Summit– a community-based forum brought together to review the results of the studies and to develop a vision and strategy for Hawaii’s energy future. The outcome of the Summit was a final report, “Hawaii at the Crossroads: A Long Term Energy Strategy,” with recommended guiding principles and policy options to meet Hawaii’s long-term energy needs. Forum members have continued to meet to facilitate implementation of these recommendations and to continue to strive toward our preferred energy vision for Hawaii. To achieve its mission of reaching understanding and collaborative action, the Forum developed a set of governance procedures to guide its deliberations and to promote a collegial environment where all opinions and positions are freely expressed.
Forum Achievements to Date
The goal in creating the Forum was to bring together diverse energy stakeholders to address a significant policy issue for our community. The Forum conveners wanted –and did—develop a common energy vision and mission, and conducted studies to answer questions to bring the State closer to establishing policies to achieve our vision of a sustainable, affordable, safe, and reliable energy system for Hawaii in 2030.
The Forum continues to be an organization where all ideas and interests can be discussed and analyzed, where white papers and research studies can be developed, shared, and views aired, and where there is civil, deliberative dialogue to address significant energy issues and options. An important objective is to arrive at consensus positions and when there is disagreement to articulate the divergent positions.
We have learned that energy issues are multiple and complex, that development of a Hawaii knowledge base is critical, and that all stakeholder groups should continue to come to the table to discuss these issues and options to enable sound decision-making. This is not easy, but members have continued to work together because they believe that the energy strategy must be based on a broader view of the impacts to the various segments of our State and must be knowledge-based.
The Forum in its four years of work together has accomplished the following:
- Conducted research on various policy issues ranging from hydrocarbons outlook, environmental requirements on energy producers, renewable and unconventional energy, energy utility regulation and taxation, and energy efficiency. Five reports on these various areas were produced and can be found on the Forum website: http://www.hawaiienergypolicy.hawaii.edu. Some of the reports have already influenced policies and practices.
- Provided briefings on the status of energy and work of the Forum to the Joint Energy Committees of the State House and Senate during the 2005 and 2006 Legislature (and is currently preparing a similar briefing for the 2007 Legislature);
- Developed recommendations which involved several hundred key energy and policy stakeholders and community leaders who share the need for a common strategic vision for Hawaii's energy future both at a Energy Summit held in 2003 and Forum discussion (see one of the outcomes: the strategic framework report that was distributed to federal, state, and local policymakers);
- Developed a brief and understandable common vision for our energy future: “Smart energy solutions to sustain a healthy, prosperous, and secure Hawaii.”;
- Adopted 10 Point Comprehensive Plan as framework for action and established Action Plan Working Groups to implement plan and recommendations; action plans have been developed for the major substantive components: (1) renewable energy; (2) energy efficiency; (3) regulatory reform; (4) hydrocarbon future; and (5) social and cultural impacts. Plans can be viewed on the Forum’s website.
- Developed a communication/outreach plan to support the public education and outreach on issues and programs to further the energy vision and goals.
- Developed a common mission to facilitate the achievement of the preferred energy vision for Hawaii by establishing a forum for sharing information and diverse viewpoints;
- Established procedures and relationships among Forum members to raise the level of trust, knowledge and public education as well as support for implementation of the energy vision, and promoting civic participation in moving forward the energy vision and actions;
- Developed legislative proposals introduced in the 2006 Legislative Session; seven of the 10 proposals were passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor
- Convened an “Executive Energy Briefing” for over 50 top executives in business and government to brief them on the benefits and how tos of increasing energy efficiency in their buildings (August 2006)
- Established an “Energy by Example” awards program to increase energy efficiency in the public and private sector by providing preliminary energy assessments to selected organizations as case studies to demonstrate energy efficiency measures. Awards were given for assessments of the following buildings: (1) Hawaii State Capitol; (2) Farrington High School; (3) United Laundry; (4) Saunders Hall at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
- Co-sponsored with the Hawaii Agricultural Leadership Foundation, Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, UH College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources, and Hawaiian Electric Company, a workshop on biofuels development to objectively promote the production of bioenergy derived fuels (October 2006)
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