STAND. COM. REP. NO. 81-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1984

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 1984 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require government entities in the State that issue building permits to:

(1) Establish a self‑certification process for behind‑the‑meter, customer‑sited solar distributed energy resource systems that deems permit applications approved and allows applicants to proceed to build solar distributed energy resource systems immediately; and

(2) Develop guidance for determining specific conditions under which a Federal Emergency Management Agency-mandated No-Rise Certification is not required for a solar distributed energy resource system located in a regulatory floodway.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Solar Energy Association; Alternate Energy Inc.; Photonworks Engineering; Climate Protectors Hawaiʻi; 350Hawaii.org; Grassroot Institute of Hawaii; Green Power Projects LLC; and five individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Contractors License Board.

Your Committee finds that to encourage the timely build-out of a diverse, resilient, and reliable portfolio of renewable energy generation and storage assets, the State must address administrative barriers that slow the deployment of solar distributed energy resource systems. Your Committee further finds that allowing self‑certification processes for permit applications for these systems would accelerate their deployment without compromising public health or safety. This measure seeks to accelerate the deployment of solar distributed energy resource systems by requiring government entities that issue building permits to adopt processes for self-certification.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting a deadline of July 1, 2027, for government entities to establish the self-certification processes;

(2) Exempting member-owned electric cooperatives from the self-certification process requirement;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1984, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1984, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Water & Land.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection,

____________________________

NICOLE E. LOWEN, Chair