West

Hawai‘i

As a small island state with non-energy intensive industries and a mild climate, Hawai‘i ranks almost last for both total and per capita energy consumption among all states. The state was the first to legally commit to a zero-emissions economy by 2045 and has decreased emissions by 19% from 2005-2021. Both in-state electricity generation and consumption are dominated by petroleum, with about one-fifth of generation coming from renewables, a majority of which is solar. Hawai‘i has the highest average electricity price of any state because of high fuel import costs.
GHG Reduction Targets
All targets relative to 2005 levels
2030 :

50%

2045 :

Carbon negative

Governor
Josh Green (Democrat)
House Party
Democratic Supermajority
Senate Party
Democratic Supermajority
Legislative session
1/17/24 - 5/3/24
US Climate Alliance Status
Member

21

Policies Enacted or In Progress
across 6 policy areas

41

Policy Opportunities
across 6 policy areas

West

11 states
This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Progress by Policy Area

  • Enacted
  • In-progress
  • Partially Enacted
  • Not Enacted
Glossary of Terms
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partially-enacted
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in-progress
in-progress
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partially-enacted
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Filters
Status Policy Policy Area Policy Category YR Enacted
Enacted
Empty column

40% renewable energy by 2030 | 70% by 2040 | 100% by 2045

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2015
Not Enacted
Empty column

Electricity greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets are set by a state to limit GHG emissions in the electricity sector. These targets aim to reduce emissions by different amounts over time, often expressed as percentage relative to a baseline year.

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets
Not Enacted
Empty column

Clean energy plans are documents that outline the policies and strategies states can implement to meet clean energy targets. Draft plans are often published first, and after a period of public comments and revisions, a final plan is released.

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets
Not Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
0/5
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
2/11
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
enacted
4/6
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Not Enacted
Empty column

Community choice aggregation allows local governments to procure power on behalf of their residents, businesses, and municipal accounts from an alternative supplier while still receiving transmission and distribution service from their existing utility provider.

Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Not Enacted
Empty column

Energy storage targets establish procurement targets for energy storage systems by a certain date, often with interim targets. Targets can vary from broad megawatt (MW) requirements to more specific mandates that focus on the adoption of certain storage technologies.

Electricity
Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage
Enacted
Empty column

Hawaii received a C grade from Freeing the Grid.

Electricity
Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage 2023
Enacted
Empty column

The public utilities commission is prohibited from issuing or renewing permits for covered source facilities that burn coal for electricity generation after December 31, 2022.

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Coal Retirement 2020
Not Enacted
Empty column

Coal securitization is a financing tool that allows utility companies to refinance debt they issued to build coal plants and close the facilities early without taking a financial hit or passing costs on to ratepayers.

Electricity
Coal Retirement

The State Climate Policy Dashboard tracks only passed policies and does not include bills currently proposed in legislative sessions. The website is intended to illustrate the current status of policies for each state, as well as key resources and model states for each policy.

Much of the information contained in this database is derived from the public domain, with links to resources provided. The information provided is made available solely for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Click here for full Terms of Use.

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