Lessons learned on vacation

We consider ourselves lucky to be able to vacation in Maui two years in a row.

I made sure we spent some time (and money) at Front Street in Lahaina. Prices could be better, but what are you going to do?

We stayed at a resort hotel and the staff were all very friendly. We got used to saying “mahalo” and “aloha.”

In discussions with the locals, I said lots of people travel here because a long time ago, tourists found out what a great place these islands are and want to visit.

So this guy told me, “Well, don’t try to change our culture.” Then he told me a story about how his family had a farm here for generations and had goats and chickens and all sorts of animals, and they lived off the land.

Somebody from the Mainland bought the property next to theirs and then complained to them that their roosters crowed too loudly and often.

I told the guy I’d keep that in mind.

I’ll do my best to assimilate but probably fall short.

Anyway, thanks for the hospitality!

RICKY FULTON, Omaha, Nebraska

Kahana Solar Project will rebid this year

As part of our ongoing commitment to keep the community up to date on Kahana Solar’s latest developments, we hope you find this project update informative. As you know, the Kahana Solar Project is a proposed 20-megawatt solar and battery storage system to be located on Maui Land & Pineapple (MLP) lands on the island of Maui that would power approximately 11,600 homes with renewable energy.

Despite our best efforts, this project is no longer financially viable under its current terms in the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). As such, Hawaiian Electric and Innergex mutually agreed to the termination of the PPA for the expressed purpose for permitting the project to be rebid under the Stage 3 Request for Proposals (RFP) for Maui in 2023.

Innergex looks forward to continuing to invest in clean energy that helps address the ever-growing energy demands in West Maui, the reliability concerns on Maui by 2027 given the impending retirement of the Kahului fossil fuel plant and Maalaea generators, the state’s mandated goal of achieving 100 percent renewable energy by 2045 and energy independence as we resubmit the project proposal in Hawaiian Electric’s Stage 3 Request for Proposals process in 2023.

We understand it is in the best interest of Maui to have a project such as Kahana Solar online as soon as possible and are continuing to advance county permitting and planning approvals, which will allow us to propose an earlier commercial operation date than many other Stage 3 RFP project submissions.

We are grateful for the generous support of the local community and MLP throughout this process and look forward to continuing our relationships in Maui as we rebid the project in the coming months. Please do not hesitate to visit our website at https://www.innergex.com/hawaii/kahana/.

We also welcome your questions or comments via the project’s e-mail, kahanasolar@innergex.com.

KAHANA SOLAR LLC

Please cut taxes in 2023

If I could propose one New Year’s resolution for Hawaii’s leaders, it would be this: cut taxes in 2023.

That should be a fairly easy resolution to keep. Throughout the election season, multiple candidates talked about the need to ease Hawaii’s tax burden, and new and established government leaders have said the same.

Gov. Josh Green made eliminating the general excise tax for food and medicine one of his major talking points. Tackling tax issues should be a win-win. That would allow our elected leaders to keep their promises, and Hawaii taxpayers would get some much-needed relief.

There’s only one problem: those tax cut promises are already being compromised.

Senate President Ron Kouchi and House Speaker Scott Saiki won’t endorse the governor’s GET exemptions; they’re saying instead that they are prepared to debate the plan. Green continues to advocate for the GET cuts but has also begun to discuss tax credits for low-income households, suggesting a willingness to back away from the exemption.

It seems the promises of tax relief that Hawaii’s politicians ran on are slowly morphing into tax credits — possibly even one-time refundable credits, which is little more than a minor distribution in wealth.

The bottom line is that a tax credit is simply not as helpful as a tax cut. Not only are credits generally temporary, they are vulnerable to being whittled away. And most important, they don’t provide the immediate relief that Hawaii’s taxpayers need — and that means they won’t have a lasting effect on the economy.

An added concern are politicians proposing higher fees, such as the so-called “green” fee, higher fees on vehicles and a tax on vacant properties, just to name a few.

Meanwhile, the state is raking in surplus revenue. Hawaii’s $2 billion surplus is projected to grow to $10 billion over the next few years. Does the government really need all that cash?

Things are not pono when the government is rolling in money while Hawaii’s residents continue to struggle with high taxes and a notoriously steep cost of living. Tax relief shouldn’t be limited to one group or morphed into select credits that don’t effectively address the issues residents face. All of Hawaii’s taxpayers could use a break — and the economy could benefit from the boost.

There are a lot of things Hawaii’s leaders could do to help lower the cost of living in our state. But if they can stick to this one New Year’s resolution, we would be moving forward on the right path.

So once again: please cut taxes in 2023. Don’t substitute a credit or employ tricky solutions that would limit the reach and scope of needed change.

There’s no more perfect time to cut taxes for all Hawaii residents. Let’s make 2023 the year Hawaii becomes more affordable for everyone.

DR. KELII AKINA, President & CEO, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii