Recently, Hawaii Gov. David Ige took a bold step by announcing his state would forgo liquified natural gas (LNG) in its pursuit of renewables. Speaking to attendees at the Asia Pacific Resilience Innovation Summit & Expo held in Honolulu in August, the governor said, “Hawaii does not need or want LNG in our future.”


It is not the first such move in this arena for Hawaii or its governor. In June, Ige signed legislation that commits Hawaii to 100 percent renewables by 2045. While petroleum is clearly off the table, LNG was still considered part of the mix to help the state reach its 30-year objective at the time.


In his August address, the governor explained that he had originally supported LNG as a “transitional” fuel, justified by its low cost and limited need for capital investment. However, he has since changed his mind, recognizing that the costs and capital plans of LNG will be “anything but small.”


In his address, the governor said that, despite differences with petroleum, LNG “is a fossil fuel. It is imported.” He added that any time or money spent on natural gas “is time and money not spent on renewable energy.”


With this in mind, Ige concluded that he did not want to put local communities “through years of permitting and siting battles for a fossil-fuel plant.”


The governor is not likely to encounter much opposition. The Hawaiian Electric Co. has pledged its support for the 100 percent renewable goal, and the U.S. military, one of the state’s biggest energy consumers, has a well-established commitment to renewable power.