Hawaii quit coal one year ago. Here’s how it’s been going

Source: Julian Spector | · CANARY MEDIA · | August 31, 2023

The lights stayed on, but the state’s experience offers some lessons on what can go wrong in the transition to clean energy.

Source: Former Hawaii Governor David Ige (D) speaks at an August 2022 ceremony marking the closure of the state's last coal plant. (Julian Spector/Canary Media)

In the last three weeks, Hawaii’s electric grid has made headlines for horrifying reasons. Early evidence indicates that power lines owned and maintained by for-profit utility Hawaiian Electric sparked the ferocious brush fire that killed at least 115 people and destroyed the historic town of Lahaina in early August. The fire’s cause has not been determined officially, but the county of Maui and several other groups are suing the company, and its stock price and credit rating have plummeted.

That tragedy has understandably eclipsed a quiet but significant anniversary: One year ago, Hawaii shut down its one remaining coal plant, with a plan to replace its electricity only with renewable energy projects.

That milestone broke new ground in the clean energy transition because no other state had attempted to eliminate coal without building new fossil gas plants. Hawaii sought to show that renewables and batteries are ready to take over from the most carbon-emitting power plant fuel. It’s worth taking stock of that journey; so far, the seas have been choppy, even before the Maui tragedy. But the undertaking has demonstrated how small-scale clean energy can solve problems when big clean energy projects fall behind.