EXCLUSIVE: Over 50 High-Profile Hawaiʻi Companies Push for Affordable Energy with LNG

Environmental groups including The Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, 350Hawaii and others, meanwhile, have expressed sharp opposition to LNG.

More than 50 of Hawaiʻi’s leading organizations have called for immediate action to lower energy costs by replacing petroleum with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

The Coalition for Hawaiʻi’s Energy Future brings together Native Hawaiian leaders, healthcare providers, agricultural groups, tourism representatives, construction and retail associations and cost-of-living nonprofits.

Among its members are Aloha United Way, Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, the Hawaii Agricultural Foundation and the Hawaii Farm Bureau. Collectively, they represent thousands of workers and families across the Islands, united in a shared goal of lowering electricity costs and strengthening grid reliability, with liquefied natural gas positioned as a transitional fuel.

Environmental groups including The Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi and 350Hawaii and others, meanwhile, have expressed sharp opposition to the idea.

Paul Yonamine, special adviser to Gov. Josh Green on energy matters, frames the debate in personal terms. “I would love to have all three of my kids back in Hawaiʻi, but it’s just that it’s so expensive,” he said, pointing to the broader cost-of-living pressures facing local families.

Hawaiʻi consistently ranks among the most expensive states in the nation for electricity. According to EIA data compiled and reported in February 2026, the state has the highest average residential electricity price in the United States, roughly 39.9 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Thatʻs more than double the national average of about 18.05 ¢/kWh. These elevated energy costs ripple across the economy, affecting food production, housing construction, healthcare delivery, nonprofit operations and small business viability.

“Energy costs are just pervasive,” Yonamine said. “If you look at why our water costs are going up 50% over the next three years… it’s related to electricity. If you really start peeling the onion and you look at a lot of our cost infrastructure in our state today—not everything, but a lot of it—it can connect back to electricity costs.”

A Bridge Strategy? 

At the center of the coalition’s proposal is LNG as a “bridge” strategy. Independent life-cycle analyses from the U.S. Department of Energy indicate that LNG used for power generation produces substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions than oil. Compared to Hawaiʻi’s continued reliance on imported petroleum, supporters argue LNG could reduce CO₂-equivalent emissions by more than 30% over the next two decades.

Advocates stress that LNG is not intended to replace renewables. Hawaiʻi’s statutory mandate to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2045 remains intact. Instead, coalition members describe LNG as a stabilizer, reducing emissions immediately while solar, wind, geothermal and battery storage continue scaling.

The Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi and 350Hawaii are leading opponents to LNG expansion, arguing that new fossil fuel infrastructure risks undermining Hawaiʻi’s 2045 renewable mandate.

Wayne Tanaka, chapter director of the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi and a prominent advocate for environmental protection, native species and water resource preservation, told Hawaii Business Magazine in a telephone interview: “There’s no foreseeable end to the ‘bridge’, given economic, political and technological realities that are implicated by the proposal.”

Furthermore, Tanaka adds: “The cost-benefit analysis financial-wise is laughable. If you think that cost overruns won’t completely eat up any benefits, I’ve got a rail to sell you.”

Tanaka and other opponents contend LNG facilities could become stranded assets as renewable and storage costs continue to decline, comparing potential LNG investments to the Honolulu Rail Transit in terms of long-term financial exposure.

Former Gov. David Ige blocked LNG plans during his administration, arguing that investment in transitional fossil fuels diverts time and capital from scaling renewables at the pace required by law.

“We are diverting capital away from renewables, and (they’ll be) locking us into indefinite dependency on imported fossil fuels,” Tanaka adds.

Critics also raise concerns about methane leakage across the LNG supply chain and question whether transitional infrastructure could delay the full buildout of renewable generation and storage. They frame the debate as a matter of sequencing: every dollar invested in LNG, they argue, is a dollar not invested directly in solar, wind, storage or grid modernization.

Yonamine points to Japan as an instructive example. He has encouraged engagement with JERA, one of the world’s largest energy companies and a major global LNG buyer. “JERA is fundamentally driving the decarbonization strategy for Japan today,” he said. “They already generate close to 30% of the country’s power. They’re the largest buyer of LNG, which provides them with energy security as well.”

Following the Fukushima disaster, Japan relied heavily on LNG to stabilize its grid while simultaneously advancing long-term decarbonization strategies. Supporters argue that Hawaiʻi, like Japan, operates in an isolated energy system and faces similar reliability constraints.

“With a balance sheet of roughly $50 billion and almost $30 billion in revenue, JERA understands how to integrate LNG alongside renewables,” Yonamine said. “The lesson from Japan is that you can lower emissions, secure reliability and still stay on a path to decarbonization.”

Tanaka argues that local consumers in Hawaiʻi will end up footing the bill for the JERA project. “In terms of dependency, we’re going to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure that is going to create a dependency to pay that off that will last decades and/or leave us with a huge, stranded asset that will have to be paid off by ratepayers.”

Infrastructure Reality

All told, much of Hawaiʻi’s generation fleet is decades old, with some plants more than 60 years in service. Outages and brownouts are becoming increasingly frequent, as was evident during storms that disrupted the islands during the Super Bowl. Unlike mainland grids, Hawaiʻi cannot import emergency power from neighboring states.

Former Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission Chair Hermina Morita recently testified that declining to advance LNG in 2015 may have cost residents between $1.5 billion and $3.5 billion in potential fuel savings. Coalition leaders cite that estimate as evidence that delay carries measurable economic consequences.

They also reject the notion that LNG infrastructure would create permanent fossil fuel dependence. According to coalition briefings, only a limited share of proposed capital investments would be tied specifically to LNG components. The majority would fund generation assets capable of incorporating hydrogen blends, biofuels and other lower-carbon inputs as technologies mature but also more solar and current forms of renewables.