Hawaii Rejects Liquid Natural Gas!

In 2015, Hawaii became the first in the country to pass a law to create a standard of 100% renewable energy by 2045.  Yet the proposed Next Era takeover of Hawaii's largest utility company would have just swapped our dependence on one fossil fuel (crude oil) for another (natural gas). Recent studies show that methane leakage, a dangerous byproduct of hydrolic fracking and LNG production, is 80 times more harmful than CO2 to the atmosphere.  Methane leaks that occur during the drilling and capture process offset the benefits of using a fossil fuel lower in CO2.  Along with educating people about the dangers of methane, climate change and sea level rise, Surfrider members attended talks and rallies against the planned takeover. Working with Surfrider HQ, the Legal Department helped write a letter to the Public Utilities Commission opposing the NextEra deal and the proposal to import LNG. Together with other groups like Blue Planet, the Sierra Club and Life of the Land, our coalition successfully rallied against the takeover.  On July 15, the PUC rejected NextEra's proposed takeover of HECO, moving Hawaii closer to true energy independence and the goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045.