Hawaii-2023-SCR82-Amended

WHEREAS, in 2008, the State and United States Department of Energy established the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative to create a long-term partnership that will result in a fundamental and sustained transformation of Hawaii's energy system in a way that is a replicable global model; and

WHEREAS, in 2014, the State and United States Department of Energy recommitted to the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative partnership through an updated Memorandum of Understanding to transition from fossil fuel imports in favor of local renewable resources and efficiency to develop "a national model for job creation, industrial transformation, environmental compliance, and technological innovation"; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii has established itself as a global leader on energy policy by being the first state in the nation to adopt a legally binding commitment to achieve a one hundred percent renewable portfolio standard and to declare a climate emergency, as well as commit to mitigate and adapt to climate change consistent with the Paris Agreement and achieve net-negative greenhouse gas emissions; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative and the State's establishment of a one hundred percent renewable portfolio standard by 2045 was followed by twelve other states that adopted similar targets; and

WHEREAS, in 2019, the Legislature created the Hawaii State Energy Office as an independent agency, administratively attached to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, to be the State's primary government entity for supporting the clean energy initiative; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Energy Office is led by the Chief Energy Officer who, subject to the approval of the Governor, coordinates the State's energy programs with those of the federal government, other territory and state governments, political subdivisions of the State, departments of the State, and governments of nations with interest in common energy resources; and

WHEREAS, the Chief Energy Officer also identifies market gaps and innovation opportunities, collaborates with stakeholders, and facilitates public-private partnerships to develop projects, programs, and tools to encourage private and public exploration, research, and development of energy resources, distributed energy resources, and data analytics that will support the State's energy and decarbonization goals; and

WHEREAS, Act 238, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, established a goal for the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit to be at least fifty percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and requires the Hawaii State Energy Office to determine Hawaii's pathway to decarbonization and identify challenges, opportunities, and action that will be needed to achieve those goals; and

WHEREAS, the State has committed to a just transition toward a decarbonized economy that invests in and ensures clean energy, quality jobs, and a statewide commitment to a climate emergency mobilization effort to reverse the climate crisis, which, with appropriate financial and regulatory assistance from state authorities, will transform the economy; and

WHEREAS, the Biden-Harris Administration has established the Justice40 Initiative, a whole-of-government approach to ensure that federal agencies work with states and local communities to deliver at least forty percent of overall benefits from federal investments in climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities; and

WHEREAS, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes up to $7,000,000,000 to establish six to ten regional clean hydrogen hubs across the United States to be a central driver in helping communities benefit from clean energy investments, good-paying jobs, and improved energy security; and

WHEREAS, clean hydrogen hubs will create networks of hydrogen producers, consumers, and local connective infrastructure to accelerate the use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier that can deliver or store significant amounts of energy as a valuable complement to the portfolio of renewable solutions that are crucial to Hawaii's strategy for achieving its clean energy and decarbonization objectives; and

WHEREAS, hydrogen energy has potential to serve as a source of clean, firm, dispatchable power and a method of energy storage, offering another pathway for decarbonization of the industrial sector and enabling energy security for critical infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, hydrogen is a chemical energy storage technology and energy carrier that can be produced locally and can be used to increase resilience and serve critical facilities, including resilience hubs and other emergency preparedness and recovery facilities; and

WHEREAS, hydrogen can serve as an alternative fuel with low to zero direct emissions that can achieve emission reductions in the hard-to-abate, or hard-to-decarbonize, energy sectors, including aviation, maritime, and heavy-duty vehicles; and

WHEREAS, the Inflation Reduction Act provides additional policies and incentives for hydrogen, including a production tax credit that will further boost the United States market for clean hydrogen; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Energy Office and its consortium of private-public sector partners' concept paper for an integrated Hawaii Pacific Hydrogen Hub was one of thirty-three concept papers to be encouraged by the United States Department of Energy to proceed to a full application for the United States Department of Energy Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs funding opportunity; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Energy Office is leading the consortium to submit the full application to establish a Hawaii Pacific Hydrogen Hub to provide economic vitality, better quality of life, and greater energy security for the people of Hawaii and the Pacific region through the local production, processing, transport, storage, and use of clean hydrogen; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, the House of Representatives concurring, that this body supports the Hawaii State Energy Office in the establishment of an integrated Hawaii Pacific Hydrogen Hub; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; and all departments and agencies with energy-related duties and responsibilities are requested to support the Chief Energy Officer of the Hawaii State Energy Office in this endeavor; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii State Energy Office is requested to update the Legislature annually, no later than twenty days before the convening of each Regular Session, on the status of the engagement and the terms of any proposed agreement; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the United States Secretary of Energy; members of Hawaii's Congressional Delegation; Governor; Chief Energy Officer of the Hawaii State Energy Office; and Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.

Report Title:

Hawaii State Energy Office; Hawaii Pacific Hydrogen Hub

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	82
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII