2020 Hawaii Energy Conference Imagines a Just Recovery

2020 Hawaii Energy Conference Imagines a Just Recovery

by | Jul 27, 2020 | 2020, News

The 2020 Hawaii Energy Conference airs this week with the live streaming of the three-hour event on July 30.  Postponed in March due to COVID-19, the free event starts at 9am HST and will feature industry experts discussing how the energy sector can and should respond to our current challenges by creating a “just” electrical grid.

Addressing the theme, ‘Imagining a Just Recovery. What would that look like for the grid?’ keynotes and panel discussions will answer the questions — What strategies will policy makers and regulators use to achieve results that benefit broad swaths of society?  How will utilities and companies in the energy sector contribute?

Jennifer Potter
Commissioner, Hawaii Public Utilities Commission

“The Hawaii Energy Conference has regrouped at a critical time for Hawaii and our country,” said Jennifer Potter, Commissioner with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission and member of the conference program committee. “The incredible macroeconomic stress and individual financial burdens are reverberating across our nation and there is no greater time to have meaningful dialogue on affordability and equity. Building a recovery plan that is inclusive of all socioeconomic groups is imperative.”

Scott Seu, the President and CEO of Hawaiian Electric, will open the live stream conference with a Keynote titled “Why Energy Equity Matters… Especially to the Electric Company.”

The program includes four panels plus brief video presentations with important information related to the theme.  Hawaii Clean Power Alliance will present “The Macroconomics of Change” and Ulupono Initiative’s video presentation will be on “Why We Should All be Talking More About Performance Based Regulation.”

Murray Clay
President, Ulupono Initiative

“The Hawaii Energy Conference provides a vital service to our state by convening policymakers and stakeholders to discuss our energy future,” said Murray Clay, President of Ulupono Initiative. “As we all work together to help Hawaii stabilize and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is especially important to embrace innovative technology, policies and regulation within the renewable energy sector, which will help protect our natural environment, shielding our island state from volatile world fossil fuel markets, strengthening its overall resilience, and aid in its economic recovery.”

The panel “COVID and the Commissions” will provide a comprehensive overview of how four state Commissions have been tackling the response to COVID in their jurisdictions. Moderator of this panel, Jennifer Potter, explained, “The Commissioners represent states that have displayed innovation in their approach to keeping the utility services intact, addressing affordability during the pandemic, and strategies to evolve the regulatory stakeholder processes to accommodate remote participation.”

The other three panels are:

Solar Jobs – Being Part of the Solution? — The Executive Director of the Hawaii Solar Energy Association leads a discussion of how jobs in solar and other parts of the “clean” energy sector can contribute to a Just Recovery.

Develop With Us, Not For Us — This panel will welcome both policy and pragmatic perspectives centered on how to design and develop WITH and not just FOR communities. Panelists will discuss how societal harms exacerbated by ill-informed energy development can be remedied through co-creative clean energy design.

Leadership Toward a Just Grid — As we embark on the path to “build back better” following the pandemic, our energy systems should be designed with resilience in ways that ensure equity. This panel will discuss emerging efforts aimed at bending the arc towards vulnerable populations now, not as a last resort.

The Hawaii Energy Conference, presented by Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) and supported by the County of Maui Office of Economic Development, serves to exchange ideas on how to better serve customers in the Islands’ rapidly changing energy environment. Attendees will be able to network with each other through a conference browser app as well as access resources provided by sponsors through the virtual Exhibit Hall and digital swag bag.

Participating sponsors are: Hawaii Clean Power Alliance, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), Ulupono Initiative, Hawaii Energy, Hawaiian Electric, Powin Energy, Progression Energy, 174 Power Global, Burns & McDonnell, Dudek, Elemental Accelerator, Greenlots, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, OpusOne Solutions, Par Hawaii.

This unique opportunity to hear from industry leaders and innovators has attracted keen interest nationally and internationally. For information on how to register for this free, virtual event and other details, go to https://hawaiienergyconference.com

2020 Hawaii Energy Conference goes Virtual

2020 Hawaii Energy Conference goes Virtual

by | Jun 24, 2020 | 2020, News

A new date, a new program and an online venue has been set for the 2020 Hawaii Energy Conference.  Presented by Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) and supported by the County of Maui Office of Economic Development, the live stream presentation will explore the theme “Imagining a Just Recovery. What would that look like for the grid?”

Scott Seu, President & CEO, Hawaiian Electric Company will open the discussion on July 30.

The in-person event was postponed mid-March, just one week before the scheduled date, due to the escalating risks and ongoing uncertainty surround COVID-19. Alternative presentation methods were explored to continue the important discussions around equity and energy in 2020.

The Hawaii Energy Conference understands our energy systems do not exist in a vacuum.  COVID-19 has laid bare the stark reality of pre-existing inequalities in our society. The elderly, the poor, and minorities have suffered tremendously in the pandemic’s wake.  Peaceful, sometimes violent, forms of protest make it painfully evident that an equitable or just recovery is the only path forward to heal our communities.

Not everything is bad news. The planet experienced an unexpected respite from air pollution, and a slowdown in carbon loading to the atmosphere. But the lessened impact to our ecosystem came at an extraordinary economic cost. As we move forward, what strategies will policy makers and regulators use to achieve results that benefit broad swaths of society?  How will utilities and companies in the energy sector contribute?

“This Program is a free three-hour event designed to give a sample of what the discussion is like at the leading energy conference in Hawaii,” said Doug McLeod, Conference Chair. “Scott Seu, the new President and CEO of Hawaiian Electric will begin the live stream discussion at 9am HST. Those joining us will hear what he and the other speakers have to say as part of our discussion of a Just Recovery.”

Commissioners from four states will engage in a live discussion on how the pandemic has changed the priorities for Public Utility regulation across the West. Hawaii PUC Commissioner, Jennifer Potter, will moderate the discussion with Clifford Rechtschaffen (California), Mark Kolesar (Alberta) and Mark Thompson (Oregon).

The Executive Director of the Hawaii Solar Energy Association, Will Giese, will lead another panel discussion on how jobs in solar and other parts of the “clean“ energy sector can contribute to a Just Recovery.

Rachel James, Attorney with the Hawaii PUC, will lead a panel titled “Develop with Us, Not for Us.” This panel will welcome both policy and pragmatic perspectives centered on how to design and develop WITH and not just FOR communities. Panelists will discuss how societal harms exacerbated by ill-informed energy development can be remedied through co-creative clean energy design.

The final panel will explore “Leadership towards a Just Grid”. Jonathan Koehn, Chief Sustainability and Resilience Officer for the City of Boulder will lead a discussion on the big opportunities that can arise from big issues. How can we use the pain from the last few months to create a grid that works for more of society?

With the Hawaii Energy Conference going virtual it is anticipated to attract a bigger and broader audience than its traditional base of energy industry leaders from Hawai’i, Continental US, Japan and Europe. The conference serves to exchange ideas on how to better serve customers in the Islands’ rapidly changing energy environment.

Recognizing the importance of these issues across the globe, and as a Mahalo (Thank you) for all those who have supported the Conference in the past, admission for this three-hour event will be FREE. This is a unique opportunity to hear from a industry leader and innovators.

Go here for program details.