State DOT outlines draft Energy Security and Waste Reduction Plan, extends public comment period

The Hawaii Department of Transportation on July 23 briefed the Honolulu City Council Committee on Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology on its draft Energy Security and Waste Reduction Plan and said the public comment period has been extended to Aug. 31.

The plan, presenters said, is intended to align the department’s actions with state climate targets that call for a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030 and for net‑negative emissions by 2045. Laura Kaʻakua, HDOT Energy Security and Community Outreach Manager, told the committee the draft will be revised annually for the first five years and that the department is scheduling additional community meetings focused on rural and underserved communities.

HDOT officials said transportation accounts for roughly half of Hawaii’s emissions and that the plan rests on three pillars: emissions reduction, energy security and affordability. The draft ranks strategies by expected impact across modes: clean fuels for aviation and marine, electrification for ground transportation and fuel‑demand reductions through multimodal options.

“[The plan] formalizes Hawaii Department of Transportation’s commitment to electrify and decarbonize transportation to meet the state's climate targets already set in law,” Kaʻakua said. Genevieve Hilliard Sullivan, HDOT resilience coordinator, noted that the plan is meant to be implemented in partnership with counties, industry and the public.

Priority actions HDOT listed for ground transportation include: expanding public electric‑vehicle charging; incentives to increase EV purchases; planning for EV battery recycling and disposal; working with rental car fleets and airport parking operators to promote fleet turnover to EVs; and coordinating county and state fleet electrification. The department said it already has public charging stations open in Kahului and at Aloha Tower and expects further stations across islands in the coming year.

Presenters said the draft sets interim electrification benchmarks for light‑duty vehicles and supportive policies: an 81% share target for new light‑duty vehicle sales to be electric by 2030 and a goal for 100% battery‑electric light‑duty vehicle sales by 2035. They identified complementary measures such as infrastructure incentives, sales‑tax exemptions and preferential registration rates for EVs, while acknowledging the need for an EV battery recycling plan before broad adoption.

The plan also proposes clean‑fuel strategies for aviation and marine sectors, including incentives or tax credits to increase the supply of sustainable aviation fuel and short‑term use of renewable diesel for ships, paired with longer‑term transitions to fuels such as e‑methanol or hydrogen. HDOT said some marine measures under discussion include limiting cruise calls and transitioning maritime operations to lower‑carbon fuels.

Representative Darius Kila, chair of the state House Transportation Committee, testified in person and urged that decarbonization not leave low‑income residents behind. Kila warned that some clean‑fuel options and port electrification carry higher near‑term costs and that the state and counties must consider impacts on small businesses, rental car operators and workers. He said rental car companies have in some cases tried EV fleets and found operational limits, and he raised concerns about supply, workforce training and the potential for higher costs to be passed to consumers.

Councilmember Dos Santos Tam (committee member) discussed declining fuel‑tax revenue as vehicles electrify and travel patterns change, noting Honolulu’s per‑county fuel tax has not been increased since 1989. HDOT and the council members discussed revenue alternatives such as road‑usage charges and congestion pricing as possible long‑term responses to shrinking fuel taxes.

Kaʻakua closed by repeating the department’s outreach schedule: two statewide Zoom public meetings set for the weekend of July 27 (afternoon) and July 28 (evening) and additional meetings targeted at rural or underserved communities in mid to late August. The department said the final plan is expected to be published in mid‑October. HDOT posted the draft and meeting information as Miscellaneous Communication 375 (2025).

HDOT asked for feedback from the council and county partners as the department finalizes the plan and continues consultations with the legislature, counties, utilities and industry.

Looking ahead, HDOT staff said the department plans to package several legislative measures into a clean‑transportation bill to support cleaner fuels, tax incentives and infrastructure investments, and that some measures will require coordination with the legislature and county partners.

Bottom line: The state DOT is advancing a multipronged draft that balances electrification, clean fuels and multimodal demand reductions, has extended its comment period to give more time for input, and seeks coordinated county‑state implementation while acknowledging cost, supply and equity challenges.