Bill Text: HI SR164 | 2021 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Office Of Planning To Quantify The Amount Of Land Needed To Meet Renewable Energy Goals And The Amount Of Land Needed To Meet Food Sustainability Goals And To Make Recommendations For The Future Siting Considerations To Meet Both Goals.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-16 - Referred to WTL. [SR164 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2021-SR164-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	164
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the office of planning to quantify the amount of land needed to meet renewable energy goals and the amount of land needed to meet food sustainability goals and to make recommendations for the future siting considerations to meet both goals.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the goal of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative is to achieve one hundred percent renewable energy, as defined by section 269-91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by 2045; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2016, Governor David Ige committed to doubling the State's food production by 2030; and

 

     WHEREAS, renewable energy projects have been, and continue to be, sited on agricultural lands, including lands with existing agricultural activity, and according to the Aloha+ Challenge Benchmark Report, food production in the State has decreased since 2018; and

 

     WHEREAS, Act 233, Session Laws of Hawaii 2008, triggered a process to identify, map, and designate important agricultural lands throughout the State, but no similar effort has been done to quantify the required acreage for renewable energy production; and

 

     WHEREAS, a significant amount of agricultural lands are not farmable due to poor soil quality, lava, rocks, or steep slopes and ravines, however much of these lands may be suitable for renewable energy projects; and

 

     WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of acres of developed land outside the agricultural district could support more rooftop solar energy projects by increasing capacity at existing locations and maximizing space over parking lots and roadways; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State Energy Office has developed two powerful and dynamic data visualization programs: the Hawaii Advanced Visualization Environment Nexus and the Hawaii Energy Visualization Initiative, which can be used by the Office of Planning and the Land Use Commission to support a proactive review of land availability and the need for each of the renewable energy technologies; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that the Office of Planning, in consultation with the State Energy Office, Land Use Commission, planning departments of each county, and electric utility companies, with public input, is requested to quantify the amount of land needed to meet renewable energy goals and to meet food sustainability goals and to make recommendations for future siting considerations to meet both goals; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report should provide the estimated land requirements to meet renewable energy goals and food sustainability goals for each county; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Planning is requested to submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Office of Planning, Chief Energy Officer of the State Energy Office, Chairperson of the Land Use Commission, Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission, Director of the Kauai County Planning Department, Director of the Maui County Department of Planning, Director of the City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, Director of the County of Hawaii Planning Department, Chief Executive Officer of Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, Chief Executive Officer of Maui Electric Company, Chief Executive Officer of Hawaii Electric Light Company, and Chief Executive Officer of Hawaii Electric Company.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Renewable Energy; Office of Planning; Study