Integrity, Intention and Transparency
Our Strategy & Approach
Puʻuloa Energy understands the importance of community engagement and outreach. We listen first, and then we will act —with integrity, intention, and transparency.
It’s our commitment to the community to engage thoroughly, listen with intent, provide information transparently, mitigate concerns, and be a good, quiet neighbor.
We listen.
We will meet with stakeholders personally, one-on-one and in group settings, to understand what information they need from us, what concerns them, and what we can do to support them.
We pay attention.
We want to know the community’s character and priorities—from traffic to cost of living—and we will do everything we can to support them. We will look closely at the Project from the community’s perspective, and we will take the lead to mitigate any potential concerns early.
We share.
We will hold town hall meetings to update stakeholders on the project’s progress and answer questions that arise.
Stakeholders & Engagement
Project stakeholders are our priority.
Our outreach will include both the Navy and the broader civilian communities, with a focus on those areas closest to the Project. This engagement and outreach will include:
- State officials and departments, including the Office of the Governor, the state Department of Business and Economic Development & Tourism, and the Hawaiʻi State Energy Office
- U.S. Congressional delegation
- U.S. Department of the Navy
- U.S. Department of Defense
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
- Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC)
- Navy Moral Welfare and Recreation Division
- Elected officials, including members of the state legislature representing the district as well as those in key committee and leadership positions
- City and County of Honolulu officials and departments, including the Office of the Mayor and elected officials
- Neighborhood boards
- Nonprofits servicing the region
- Native Hawaiian organizations and individuals
- Schools
- Community alliances focused on specific issues
- Farming associations and farmers
- Individuals within the community
We keep the community informed.
Our engagement and outreach work focuses on sharing proposed project details—location, size, technologies, acreage, the needs being fulfilled, project benefits, project permitting, cultural resources and environmental information. Our goal is to engage the community in understanding the project and its value, and then listen to their thoughts and concerns so that we can factor that into its development and operations. Outreach methods include but are not limited to the following:
- One-on-one personal meetings;
- Participation in existing gatherings, such as Neighborhood Boards;
- Proactive project-specific meetings with the community;
- Media outreach, including meeting announcements and other information;
- Website;
- Email;
- Ongoing updates to community stakeholders and leadership; and
- Creation and distribution of collateral materials explaining the Project and updating stakeholders on its progress (e.g., brochure, PowerPoint presentations, and poster boards).
Community members are offered multiple ways to communicate with Puʻuloa Energy about the Project and have those comments memorialized for the record, including the following:
- One-on-one personal meetings;
- Email;
- Online submissions via the website; and
- Formal 30-day comment periods prior to and during the Public Utilities Commission process.
Project Benefits
The proposed project aligns with numerous critical goals and mandates in Hawaiʻi, including:
- The state’s energy goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2045
- The state’s carbon-neutral goal by 2045
Benefits to the wider island community also include:
- Stable cost of energy for the benefit of utility customers;
- Construction and other project-related prevailing wage jobs;
- Long-term local operations prevailing wage employment;
- Transportation jobs;
- Sourcing of supplies and materials from in-state providers; and
- Economic boost to local businesses.
This community outreach framework is designed to first create dialogue – informing us at least as much as informing the community. It is our intent to empower the community so that we can collaborate and innovate together. We recognize a community’s fabric depends on participatory planning, innovating, budgeting, and execution. We are here for the long-term.
In this spirit, Puʻuloa Energy will engage in a process to acquire feedback from the stakeholders and find impactful ways to contribute resources, primarily through annual funding of at least $297,000 annually ($3,000/MW) to provide direct benefits to the community including, but not limited to entities such as:
- Community organizations;
- Charities;
- Social service community organizations; and
- Non-profits focused on environment, natural hazard mitigation, quality-of-life enhancement, STEM education, youth recreation, apprentice programs, and mentorships.
These funds will be administered through a local non-profit grant administrator throughout the 30-year term of the power purchase agreement.
Join Us
Join us for our upcoming meeting.
Puʻuloa Energy Community Meeting
03/12/24
Aliamanu Middle School, Cafeteria
6:00 – 7:30 p.m. HST
Other Resources
Read more about the Project, its benefits and role in Hawaiʻi’s clean energy initiatives.
Project Summary
Project Summary and
Community Outreach Plan
Community Benefits Plan