The 13th Annual Hawaii Energy Conference was held May 20, 21 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center bringing together nearly 400 energy leaders, policymakers, innovators, and community voices to examine this year’s theme: Energy: Power, People and Place.
Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) has presented the conference since 2014 to explore the challenges and opportunities in Hawaii’s transition to renewable energy. Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen opened the two-day conference that featured dynamic keynote addresses, engaging panels, and in-depth discussions. This year’s program actively explored pathways to resilience and sustainability using firm power, while incorporating the lessons learned from successful indigenous projects.
Mana Newton, Group CEO, Tauhara North No. 2 Trust, New Zealand delivered a powerful keynote sharing the journey and story of geothermal energy in their community. It was a story of inclusion; ownership; and of regeneration; balancing cultural stewardship with commercial viability to strengthen resilience.
“It’s really learning from an indigenous perspective how we can connect together, so that we can understand what this demand on energy is going to look like in the future,” said Newton. “I think the world is going to have a significant demand on energy going forward because of climatization, because of the developments of AI — and we’ve got to ask ourselves those questions of how do we play in this development going forward?”
Mana Newton of Tauhara North No. 2 Trust, New Zealand delivered the keynote at the 2026 Hawaii Energy Conference
Jacqui Hoover, Chair of the conference program committee, Director of Hawaii Island Economic Development Board said, “The things we learn here, the innovations we put in place, the technologies we test – we’re really setting the bar and establishing the floor as well as the ceiling for energy overall. People who come, whether it’s from across the state of Hawaii or the continent, even international, we’re able to take our lessons learned and weave them together as we do in Hawaii — weaving together our mana’o, our knowledge, as well as the opportunities and our resources.”
People, Power and Place
Newton also joined a panel on day 2 that directly addressed the theme of People, Power and Place and looked at models from Hawaii, Tribal Nations, and the Pacific. Moderated by Nāʻālehu Anthony, Activist, changemaker and storyteller; the panel explored how communities design and govern their own energy projects. Wayne Yazza, Jr., Director of Utilities (and former Governor) of Picuris Pueblo; Andrea (Andy) Blair, also of New Zealand; and Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, County of Maui Council joined the discussion.
“We’re in a place now where there are no easy answers left for any of the big topics,” said Nāʻālehu Anthony. “When we enter into these conversations, we cannot just start with no and leave it there. Do you want solar? No. Do you want wind? No. Do you want geothermal? No, we don’t. No, as a starting place, imbues that we are saying something else that is a yes. And so, when we’re saying yes to continuing to burn oil, then we are putting our kids and their kids’ future at stake. It’s really important for me to take up some of these hard questions in spaces like this in ways where we can be respectful to others to start to get to yes in the concepts and the ideas of how we get towards renewables that requires a lot more conversations than just these two days.”
Panel discuss the theme People, Power and Place at HEC 2026
Wren Westcoatt, Vice President of Development for Longroad Energy and a member of the conference planning committee who moderated a panel on ‘Higher Solar Costs and 100% RPS’ said, “Hawaii has a law to reach 100% renewable energy by 2045. And that is really a guiding light for a lot of people that work in the renewable industry. The conference supports the goal in a lot of ways — hearing from professionals that are really in the trenches, trying to get those projects done so that we can get renewable projects, whether it’s solar or other types of renewables, geothermal, so that our state can reach that one hundred percent goal by twenty forty five.”
Deep Dive Session
A Deep Dive Session provided an opportunity to explore the topic of ‘Water and Energy’ in greater depth with an intimate group. Despite being surrounded by water, many communities in Hawaiʻi face ongoing water shortages— including those in areas impacted by the 2023 fires.
This session explored current and emerging options for seawater desalination, the status of desalination plans on Oahu and Maui, and the energy challenges that influence the feasibility and cost of these technologies. Ben Sullivan owner of LeaHi Design led the Deep Dive discussion and was joined by Lauren Roth Venu CEO of 3Water, Inc; John Stufflebean, Director of County of Maui Water Supply; Barry Usagawa Program Administrator with the Honolulu Board of Water Supply and Srinivas “Vasu” Veerapaneni, Global Practice Technology Leader, Reuse, Desal and Advanced Processes with Black & Veatch.
The deep dive session at the 2026 Hawaii Energy Conference was led by Ben Sullivan
Featured Presentations
Featured Presentations included: The Maui Method, Presented by Christopher Wegner, Hazard Mitigation Specialist with the Maui Emergency Management Agency; Best Practices for Adding Large Load to the Grid, presented by Mark Kolesar, Senior Advisor with Ankura Consulting Group; Hardening the Grid, presented by Marc Asano, the Director of Wildfire Strategy for Hawaiian Electric; and Community-led Energy Efficiency with Caroline Carl, Hawaii Energy, and Jennifer Yoshimura, Sustainable Moloka‘i.
In addition to the general sessions, the conference provided networking opportunities for attendees with breakfast, lunch and receptions. The exhibit venue showcased organizations with the latest renewable energy technologies and services.
“I look forward to that networking opportunity because it’s really a place where you get to look at the conversations that are happening out there in the industry and then start talking about them in person,” remarked Jennifer Potter, Faculty Energy Specialist with the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute and member of the 2026 Program Committee. “So, we’re solving problems here. The conversations that happen on stage, we take them away from this conference, and we continue that dialogue. Being able to inform those conversations as part of the program committee, selecting topics that are going to be relevant for the state and that are relevant for the state is really an awesome opportunity and it does it keeps me coming back every year.”
Visitors from Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Korea, Puerto Rico, and across the Continental U.S joined Hawaii-based attendees for networking with each other and with the exhibiting companies showcasing leading edge technologies in renewable energy.
“We came to listen, learn, and better understand how we can contribute to the local energy market in the future,” explained Seoyoung Jung, SK Gas, who came with four colleagues from Korea to attend the conference. “I had an opportunity to meet many great people and gain a deeper understanding of Hawaii’s energy landscape. It gave us a very positive perspective on how we might create synergies and contribute together going forward. This is my first time visiting Hawaii, so it’s been a really great experience both professionally and personally.”
Attendees can network over breakfast and lunch at the Hawaii Energy Conference
Sponsors showcase their products and services in the HEC Exhibit Hall
Panelists discuss cultivating a clean energy workforce at HEC 2026
Students from James Campbell High School attended to support their Environmental Science teacher, Spencer Alexander, who spoke on the panel ‘Cultivating a Robust Clean Energy Workforce.’ The panel explored the needs for recruiting, training and retaining, to facilitate the development of the diverse workforce needed for Hawaii’s clean energy transition.
“It’s what we talk about in my environmental science class and taking it a step further to how we can apply it in the real world,” said student, Luvely Suguitan. “My biggest takeaway is that there are a lot of limitations in the energy sector and towards our energy goals. It helped me understand further that a lot of things limit us from being quicker, going forward.”
Nāʻālehu Anthony summed it up, “Fundamentally these two days of conference allows so many people with the diverse views to get to yes that it’s a really exciting place and space to be in.”
The conference closed with a final networking opportunity; a Pau Hana reception sponsored by Women in Renewable Energy (WiRE). WiRE’s mission, to advance the role and recognition of women and other underrepresented groups working in the energy sector.
The 2026 Hawaii Energy Conference was sponsored by AES Hawaii, Ameresco, Hawaii Gas, Hawaiian Electric, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, IBEW Local 1260, IBEW Local 1186, Ikehu Utility Solutions, Integrity Environmental, Island Energy Services, Jera Americas, JM Distributed Solutions, Johnson Controls, Kauai Island Utility Coop, Leadsun, Moss & Associates, Noresco, NovaTech Automation, Par Hawaii, Puna Geothermal Ventures, Tetra Tech, Trio Energy Alliance, Ulupono Initiative, WSP. Alaska Air/Hawaiian Airlines was the official airline for the 2026 Hawaii Energy Conference.
For more information about the 2026 program and access to session recordings, visit https://hawaiienergyconference.com/2026-hawaii-energy-conference/
The Hawaii Energy Conference is presented by Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation established in 1982 with a mission to diversify Maui County’s economy, building pathways to innovation, jobs and opportunities for our residents. Through partnerships with the public and private sector, MEDB undertakes projects that assist growth industries with navigating and thriving in our county, educates and trains residents for new careers, and engages our community in forums that determine future economic directions.