Big Wind Environmental Impact Statement Meeting

Dept. of Energy News Release

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the State of Hawaii have established a long-term partnership to transform the way in which renewable energy and energy efficiency resources are planned and used in the state. In 2010, DOE announced its intent to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) with the state as a joint lead for wind energy development under the Hawaii Interisland Renewable Energy Program (HIREP). In response to public comments, as well as regulatory and policy developments, DOE has broadened the scope of the PEIS to now include energy efficiency, distributed renewables, utility-scale renewables, alternative transportation fuels and modes, and electrical transmission and distribution.

The DOE will hold eight public scoping meetings on six islands from Sept. 11–20 to gather input on the PEIS. The Molokai meeting will be held on Wed. Sept. 19 at the Mitchell Pauole Center at 5:30 p.m.

DOE invites public comments on the revised scope of the PEIS, now called the Hawaii Clean Energy PEIS. The State of Hawaii and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) are cooperating agencies in preparing this PEIS. Meeting details, information about the PEIS, the Amended Notice of Intent, and instructions for commenting on the PEIS can be found at hawaiicleanenergypeis.com.