Statement from Warren Lee, President of Honua Ola

Statement from Warren Lee, President of Honua Ola

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Honua Ola Workers Fight for a Career and Way of Life They Cherish

Pepeʻekeo, HI (December 17, 2020) — Next Tuesday, December 22, the next step in the effort to save the Honua Ola Bioenergy facility and have it produce clean, renewable energy begins with the filing of its Opening Brief for its appeal to the Hawai‘i Supreme Court.

Honua Ola’s appeal seeks to set aside the July 9 decision of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to shut down the new, state-of-the-art facility that is 99 percent complete and currently employs more than 60 workers. An additional 160-plus jobs in other industries will also be supported by the facility’s operation.

If Honua Ola is forced to permanently close, its workers and their families will suffer more than anyone.
This video features comments from the following four Honua Ola employees about why this renewable energy facility is vital to the Big Island’s environment, supports their careers and families, and allows them to live and work in their hometown communities along the Hāmākua Coast.

• Rilan Ferreira, Shift Supervisor
• Robert Duyao Jr., Auxillery Operator
• Derek Petrowski, Electrician
• Jaydi Veriato, Environmental Health & Safety

Background: How Shutting Down Honua Ola Would Impact its Workers

A Lifelong Career is Terminated

• They lose a career and their benefits, including medical insurance, paid sick leave, paid vacation leave, 401K retirement plan, and life insurance. Most workers planned to stay at Honua Ola until retirement.
• Honua Ola’s workers lose a steady, good-paying job they were hired and trained to perform in an area where jobs are hard to come by and the economy is struggling. These are jobs that allowed the workers to plan their future around:
  • Most of the workers are married, have children, and are either the sole provider or breadwinner. Many of the workers have young families.
  • Some workers are building their homes, while others are remodeling their homes.
  • Some workers were able to secure a home of their own.
  • Many workers established a career at Honua Ola after having had to work at service jobs or multiple jobs to make ends meet. If not for Honua Ola, several would be working off island.

A Treasured Way of Life is Interrupted

• Honua Ola’s workers are proud of how they will be producing renewable energy for their home island and helping to protect the environment by reducing fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions.
• All of the workers are Hawai‘i residents, and almost all of them are from the Big Island’s east side. Honua Ola is providing them with the opportunity to live, work, thrive and raise families in their hometown community.
• The workers maintain a strong connection to this community stretching back to the sugar mill days when many of their grandparents and parents put down roots to raise their families. This is the lifestyle many of these workers grew up with and want to maintain, including camping, fishing, and gatherings with friends.
• Honua Ola gives its workers the opportunity to have a good long career, while raising their families in their hometown community and making a positive impact for their island’s future.

Current Legal Situation

• On July 9, 2020, the PUC issued an Order revoking a competitive bidding waiver for the project that was previously approved twice by the PUC upon which Honua Ola relied, and suddenly closed the docket, effectively killing the project.
• On September 16, Honua Ola submitted two separate filings with the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, (1) Notice of Appeal; and (2) Petition for Extraordinary Writ and/or Writ of Mandamus, which requested that the PUC’s
• July 9 Order be vacated and the PUC be ordered to hold an evidentiary hearing to address the issue of greenhouse gas emissions, as previously instructed by the Court.
• With respect to the Writ, on October 7, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court asked the parties to submit written responses to Honua Ola’s filing within 20 days, which they did. The Court has yet to rule.
  With respect to the Appeal, Honua Ola’s Opening Brief will be filed with the Hawai‘i Supreme Court on December 22.

Located in Pepeʻekeo on the Hāmākua Coast of Hawaiʻi Island, the Honua Ola Bioenergy project (also known as Hu Honua Bioenergy) is a state-of-the-art facility that will provide renewable, firm energy 24/7, support Hawai‘i’s clean energy goals, revitalize East Hawai‘i Island’s agricultural sector, and create permanent, long-term jobs for the next 30 years to help support the island’s economy.