Relating To Renewable Energy.
SB589 is a renewable energy and utility-regulation bill focused on expanding customer-sited distributed energy resources in Hawaii, especially rooftop solar paired with battery storage. It directs the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to set a statewide installation goal for new customer-sited distributed energy resources by December 31, 2030, and to create tariffs for grid services programs, microgrids, and community-based renewable energy that provide fair compensation and support deployment.
The bill also requires the PUC to establish compensation values for exported solar-plus-storage energy and for the resiliency, capacity, and ancillary services provided by these systems. It authorizes renewable-energy wheeling, defines wheeling in statute, and requires the PUC to adopt rules and procedures for wheeling and microgrid service tariffs by January 1, 2027. In addition, it clarifies that a person who constructs, maintains, or operates a new microgrid is not considered a public utility solely because of service provided through that microgrid, and it revises the public-utility definition to preserve certain existing exemptions and to remove language that would have barred wheeling under that section.
The bill would amend Chapter 269 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes by adding new sections on distributed energy resource goals, compensation, microgrids, and wheeling, and by revising the statutory definition of "public utility" in section 269-1. Its practical effect is to give the PUC new duties to set targets, design tariffs, and establish compensation structures for customer-sited solar, storage, grid services, and renewable-energy wheeling, while also creating a clearer legal pathway for microgrid operators and certain on-site renewable energy arrangements. The bill expressly excludes member-owned cooperative electric utilities from several of its new provisions.
The overall sentiment appears strongly supportive of the bill’s renewable-energy and grid-resilience goals. The committee vote history shows broad approval at multiple stages, including unanimous or near-unanimous passage in later committees and conference, suggesting substantial legislative consensus around expanding distributed energy resources, microgrids, and compensation mechanisms. The findings section also frames the measure as a response to grid reliability problems, climate risks, and the need to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.
The main points of contention likely center on how the new tariffs and compensation values will be set, who will pay for them, and how the rules will affect utilities, customer-generators, and aggregators. The bill requires fair compensation for exported energy and grid services, which may raise concerns about rate impacts and utility cost recovery, while supporters likely view those payments as necessary to incentivize investment. Another likely issue is the scope of wheeling and microgrid authority, including consumer protections, project size limits, and the carve-out for member-owned cooperative utilities, which suggests the bill was tailored to address operational and regulatory concerns in Hawaii’s utility landscape.