Clean ENERGY
ACCELERATING HAWAI'I'S LOCAL WORKFORCE FOR A BETTER FUTURE.
Clean Energy is important to Hawai'i’s future because electricity and fuel are necessary for Hawai'i residents and businesses. However, is it reliably available, how much will it cost, where will it come from, and what environmental impacts will it cause or prevent?
Hawai'i's transition away from fossil fuel use for electricity and fuel by 2045 without interruptions will require massive investments and projects over the next 22 years in the energy efficiency, renewable energy, and transportation sectors. This work will require a large skilled workforce that must come from Hawai'i to maximize the benefits to the state. Hawai'i consumed an average of nearly 31 million barrels of fuel annually from 2015-2019 for transportation use alone. Replacing this significant volume of fuel will require a skilled workforce with knowledge in alternative modes of transportation. In 2021, 38% of the electricity sold by Hawai'i's electric utilities came from renewable energy meaning we must replace 60% of our electricity generation. In 2022, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimated between 7,717 to 11,895 jobs by 2030 in the solar, wind, and battery fields and another 783 energy efficiency jobs by 2030. [State-Level Employment Projections for Four Clean Energy Technologies in 2025 and 2030 (nrel.gov)]
As the lead for the Clean Energy sector, the Hawai'i State Energy Office will work with its partners to train 400 Clean Energy workers over the next three years and place over 75% of them in new or improved positions. Given the amount of work ahead of us, employers, educators, and community partners are banding together to identify the needs of Hawai‘i’s workforce of tomorrow and develop the resources to provide these needs. Through stakeholder engagement, workforce development programs and resources can be developed to best meet the needs of employers and employees in the Clean Energy sector.