{"id":499,"date":"2026-05-23T09:05:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T09:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=499"},"modified":"2026-05-23T09:05:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T09:05:01","slug":"heco-and-environmental-advocates-split-over-hawaii-clean-air-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=499","title":{"rendered":"HECO and environmental advocates split over Hawaii clean-air plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Environmental advocates and Hawaiian Electric are responding to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s partial rejection of the State of Hawaii\u2019s clean-air plan.<\/p>\n

Read more Magnitude 6.0 earthquake on Hawaii island shakes the state; no tsunami generated<\/a><\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

Hawaii\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Earthjustice Hawaii attorney Isaac Moriwake said the decision could keep nearly 8,000 tons of toxic chemicals in the air.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 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,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Earthjustice said Hawaiian Electric is backing away from commitments tied to the shutdowns.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 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,\u201d Moriwake said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

For now, Pai said the utility still relies on the Kaneolehua Hill and Kahului generating stations to maintain service.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order to maintain reliable service for Maui and Hawaii Island, we believe it\u2019s 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,\u201d Pai said.<\/p>\n

Read more Volunteers gather for annual \u2018Sew a lei for Memorial Day\u2019 event<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think state regulators have to step up here and not let HECO get away with it,\u201d Moriwake said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Environmental advocates also said they are concerned the EPA\u2019s decision could affect air quality near Hawai\u2018i Volcanoes and Haleakal\u0101 national parks.<\/p>\n

Pai said the federal Regional Haze Rule is primarily aimed at visibility near national parks, not public health.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s regulated by the EPA. It\u2019s 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,\u201d Pai said.<\/p>\n

Moriwake disagreed.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cThe communities are going to pay for it, both in their wallets, as well as breathing polluted air,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that\u2019s just what the Trump EPA does. Really, though, shame on HECO for exploiting the situation and exploiting the Trump administration\u2019s fossil fuel agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pai said Hawaiian Electric remains focused on transitioning to cleaner energy sources, including solar, wind and biofuels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work closely with the state and the federal government to make sure that we\u2019re all moving in step to get us to this renewable future,\u201d Pai said.<\/p>\n

Read more Maui couple fends off tiger shark in frightening Olowalu encounter<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earthjustice says Hawaiian Electric is backing away from commitments to shut down aging power plants on Hawaii Island and Maui.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHECO and environmental advocates split over Hawaii clean-air plan - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=499\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HECO and environmental advocates split over Hawaii clean-air plan - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Earthjustice says Hawaiian Electric is backing away from commitments to shut down aging power plants on Hawaii Island and Maui.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=499\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-23T09:05:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=499#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=499\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"HECO and environmental advocates split over Hawaii clean-air plan\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-23T09:05:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=499\"},\"wordCount\":566,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=499#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/068ffaa11f008adc78beea9e8b5843e5.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=499#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=499\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=499\",\"name\":\"HECO and environmental advocates split over Hawaii clean-air plan - 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