ILWU Local 142 Members and Honua Ola Employees Rally on Maui to Protest PUC Decision that Would Eliminate Jobs for Big Island Families

Chants of “clean energy now!” and “local jobs for local families!” rang out on Wednesday, June 15, in front of the State Office Building in Wailuku, as 60 ILWU Local 142 members were joined by a dozen Honua Ola Bioenergy employees and other union representatives to protest the Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC) 2-1 majority decision rejecting Honua Ola’s power purchase agreement with Hawaiian Electric.

Chris West, President of ILWU Local 142, said, “We are supporting our brothers and sisters on the Big Island and even more than that, clean firm energy, and future jobs for local families so they don’t have to move away. This is about all of us standing together and holding our policymakers responsible for the decisions they make.”

On May 23, PUC Commissioner Jennifer Potter – a resident of Maui – joined PUC Chair James Griffin, who is leaving his position on June 30, 2022, to deny Honua Ola’s power purchase agreement. PUC Commissioner Leodoloff Asuncion filed a 20-page dissent in opposition to the majority decision stating that Honua Ola had met its burden for approval based on the requirements the Hawai‘i Supreme Court conveyed to the PUC.

Michael Victorino, Jr., Secretary/Treasurer for ILWU Local 142, commented, “We are here in solidarity for something everyone should want for local families, good-paying jobs, good benefits, and support for our community. This project is a win-win. The PUC needs to understand that firm energy is an alternative we can rely on. This project has been greenlighted twice. Do the right thing and let Honua Ola go forward.”

Jaydi Veriato, Honua Ola’s Environmental Health and Safety Officer, spoke with her son at her side to emphasize how Honua Ola will support career opportunities for future generations of Big Island residents. “There is so much that gets taken out of our local economy, and with Honua Ola everything will stay local from our fuel source of biomass to our biodiesel that is made at a plant in Keaʻau.

We need to get rid of the misinformation and let people know about the great possibilities we have with sustainable energy on the Big Island, and the opportunities that we can create and leave for our children to have over the next 30 years.”

On June 2, Honua Ola filed a Motion for Reconsideration, Clarification, and Further Hearing with the PUC seeking to reverse the 2-1 PUC Majority decision issued by Commissioners James Griffin and Jennifer Potter to reject Honua Ola’s renewable energy project on Hawai‘i Island.

The motion highlights that the PUC Majority generated evidence outside the scope of the proceedings without providing an opportunity for the parties to meaningfully respond. The motion also states that the PUC Majority treated Honua Ola differently from other prior renewable energy projects, that received PUC approvals following GHG emissions analysis, by applying a different and unattainable standard for approval. Incredibly, despite Honua Ola’s pledge and financial commitment to plant and grow more trees than it harvests (in the millions of trees), the PUC Majority was not convinced that such trees would remove emissions from the atmosphere and that GHG emissions would be reduced. A decision by the PUC on the motion is pending.