Friday, November 13, 2026 74° Today’s Paper
By Sebastien Selarque
Nov. 12, 2026
Sébastien Sélarque
STAR-ADVERTISER / 2024
Thousands of solar panels collect energy from the sun for grid use and battery storage at Kupono Solar Farm in Ewa Beach on June 13, 2024.
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In Hawaii, energy solutions should be community solutions that ensure resiliency and safety. As Hawaii weighs a proposal from Tokyo-based JERA Co. Inc. to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant and terminal on Oahu — a roughly $2 billion project — with questionable economic benefits, we have now endured yet another intense storm that makes us reflect.
Would LNG have kept the power on for the 250,900 residents who lost power as high winds and heavy rains impacted the island chain during Lala? Would LNG have kept the power on for the more than 130,000 residents without power in March during the Kona-low storms?
No. A new centralized fossil fuel burning power plant, like this proposed LNG project, would not have prevented downed power lines. However, solutions that don’t rely on those powerlines, like rooftop solar and battery storage, resiliency hubs and local microgrids can ensure that people have access to electricity when they most need it.
LNG is a fossil fuel that Hawaii would have to import from foreign countries. Investing billions in new LNG infrastructure risks locking Hawaii into decades of imported fuel dependence, global price swings, trade wars and global conflict, and continued greenhouse gas emissions. At a time when the state has committed to achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045, LNG is not a bridge to a clean future; it is a detour.
Utility-scale solar is now one of the lowest-cost sources of electricity that exists. When paired with battery storage, it can provide reliable, dispatchable power at rates that are increasingly competitive with fossil fuels. In Hawaii, several recently approved solar-plus-storage projects have already demonstrated lower costs than traditional oil-fired generation, while offering stable, predictable pricing over decades.
Distributed rooftop solar is already widespread on Oahu, with more than 1 in 3 single-family homes generating their own power. This existing network can be expanded efficiently, particularly when combined with battery systems that store excess energy for use during evening peak demand. The result is a more flexible and resilient grid.
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Battery storage costs, once a major barrier, have fallen by more than 80% over the past decade. Grid-scale storage projects are now being deployed across Hawaii to shift abundant daytime solar into the evening, reducing reliance on fossil fuel peaker plants. This is not theoretical — it is already happening.
In contrast, LNG projects require long development timelines, complex permitting processes, and decades of cost recovery. By the time such infrastructure becomes operational, renewable technologies are likely to be even more affordable and efficient.
Hawaii currently imports most of its energy, sending billions of dollars to outside economies. Expanding solar and other renewables keeps more of that money within the local economy, supporting jobs, businesses and long-term economic resilience.
Clinging to LNG risks delaying the inevitable while saddling residents with unnecessary costs and continued exposure to global fuel markets. Solar, by contrast, offers price certainty, energy independence and alignment with Hawaii’s legally mandated goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045.
We have a choice. We can double down on imported fossil fuels through LNG, or we can accelerate the transition already underway — one built on solar, storage and local resilience. Hawaii has long positioned itself as a leader in clean energy, with both the resources and the policy framework to succeed.
Solar is not just an option — it is the smarter investment for Hawaii’s future.
Sébastien Sélarque is corrdinator of Local Power Hawaii, a new coalition of community leaders, business owners and organizations advocating that Hawaii — not outside corporations or fossil fuel interests — control the state’s energy future.
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