HECO and environmental advocates split over Hawaii clean-air plan

News admin May 23, 2026 0 Comments

HECO and environmental advocates split over Hawaii clean-air plan

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Environmental advocates and Hawaiian Electric are responding to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s partial rejection of the State of Hawaii’s clean-air plan.

Under the federal Regional Haze Rule, states are required to develop plans every 10 years to reduce pollution that affects visibility in national parks and wilderness areas.

Hawaii’s plan called for retiring aging power plants on Hawaii Island and Maui, but the EPA disagreed, citing Clean Air Act compliance issues and grid reliability concerns.

Earthjustice Hawaii attorney Isaac Moriwake said the decision could keep nearly 8,000 tons of toxic chemicals in the air.

“It’s really disappointing all around, and shameful, really, especially for HECO. I mean, we know the Trump EPA is going to take any chance it gets, right, to push fossil fuels,” he said.

Earthjustice said Hawaiian Electric is backing away from commitments tied to the shutdowns.

“It’s really something else for HECO to be double-crossing Hawaii regulators and ratepayers like this. It was HECO who proposed to shut down these plants,” Moriwake said.

Hawaiian Electric spokesperson Darren Pai said the company still plans to shut down the plants, but said the timeline has been complicated by delays and cancellations in replacement energy projects.

For now, Pai said the utility still relies on the Kaneolehua Hill and Kahului generating stations to maintain service.

“In order to maintain reliable service for Maui and Hawaii Island, we believe it’s better to maintain the flexibility to keep some of those units running a little bit longer while we continue to work on this transition to renewable energy,” Pai said.

Moriwake said state regulators should respond, arguing the state Department of Health negotiated the plan with Hawaiian Electric and that the utility is now changing course.

“I think state regulators have to step up here and not let HECO get away with it,” Moriwake said. “It was really the state Department of Health that took the lead here, negotiated this promise with HECO to retire these super dirty plants, and now HECO pulled the rug out from under them.”

Environmental advocates also said they are concerned the EPA’s decision could affect air quality near Hawai‘i Volcanoes and Haleakalā national parks.

Pai said the federal Regional Haze Rule is primarily aimed at visibility near national parks, not public health.

“It’s regulated by the EPA. It’s really about visibility, about the clarity of seeing, the visibility of the air in the areas around national parks… more than it is a health regulation,” Pai said.

Moriwake disagreed.

“The communities are going to pay for it, both in their wallets, as well as breathing polluted air,” he said. “But that’s just what the Trump EPA does. Really, though, shame on HECO for exploiting the situation and exploiting the Trump administration’s fossil fuel agenda.”

Pai said Hawaiian Electric remains focused on transitioning to cleaner energy sources, including solar, wind and biofuels.

“We work closely with the state and the federal government to make sure that we’re all moving in step to get us to this renewable future,” Pai said.