Hawaii closes last-standing coal plant and strives for renewables

In light of ambitious US green targets, several states are moving towards renewable energy. For the Hawaiian islands, that means closing its last standing coal-powered facility.

This week, the Governor of Hawaii David Ige announced that the state’s last remaining coal-fuelled power plant had halted operations for good.

The arrival of the facility’s last coal shipment in July signalled a major turning point for Hawaii’s reliance on its most pollutant sources of energy. It also means that the state has succeeded in reaching its target to ban coal before the year 2023.

In the eyes of environmentalists and activists, the move is a positive one.

However, many critics are concerned that Hawaii’s renewable energy sector is not yet well-prepared enough to supply the nation with energy on its own.

This is hardly a shock to anyone, as the now-shut coal facility had supplied one-fifth of all electricity used on the island of Oahu for over 30 years. And despite its growing green sector, Hawaii will need to continue relying on fossil fuels to generate around half of the energy used on the island — at least for now.