The States

Hawaiian Electric: Yoh Kawanami

Co-director for Customer Energy Resources

“Community Based Renewable Energy is where you have a solar farm but people that live in a condo or have an odd-shaped roof may be able to invest in those panels and get a bill credit as if they have rooftop solar.”

Hawaiian Electric: Christian Whitney

Director for Pole Infrastructure Enterprise

“In order for anyone to accomplish their sustainability goals or for Hawaiian Electric to accomplish our reliability goals, the future is all in the telecom and the technology.”

Hawaiian Electric: Jack Shriver

Director for Generation Project Development

“Our islands are relatively small, and the acreage footprint is going to start to become a more contentious issue. We’re going to need to look for technologies that don’t use up as much of our precious resources.”

Hawaiian Electric: Scott Seu

SVP for public affairs

“If you’re going to operate a business here in Hawaii for 20 years or so, you will be expected by the community to become a part of it, to be able to engage on an ongoing basis.”

Hawaiian Electric: Colton Ching

SVP for planning and technology

“Our electric supply plans are aggressive. They’re forward leading within the industry and there does not exist technology today at this moment in time that will meet all of our needs over the next 20 or 30 years.”

Visiting Hawaiian Electric

Unique Renewable Goals

Perhaps the highest of the high points of visiting Hawaiian Electric and Hawaii's Public Utilities Commission was when Commission chair Jay Griffin announced during the pre-hearing conference we attended that "the Mitnicks" of Public Utilities Fortnightly were sitting in, as welcome guests of the Commission. (One Mitnick had flown in from Washington, D.C., the other from Tokyo.) Or perhaps when we watched the moving Hawaiian blessing of the West Loch Solar Project of Hawaiian Electric and the U.S. Navy.

Michigan's Clean Energy Plan

Launching ‘MI Power Grid’

The energy industry is changing rapidly amid the transition to clean, decentralized sources of power. It's a lot to keep up with, so in October, the Michigan Public Service Commission and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer launched an initiative to help residents and businesses adapt to the changes. Called MI Power Grid, the project will serve as a centralized source of credible information and outreach.