Renewable Energy Project Permitting in the State of Hawaii

The solar power developer that installed this rooftop power system on the Mauna Lani Bay golf clubhouse on Hawaii's Big Island was required to obtain a variety of federal, state, and Hawai‘i County permits before the project got under way. Credit: SunPower

Every renewable project in the state of Hawaii requires several resource-specific federal and state permits as well as a number of county permits. Identifying which ones you’ll need involves two basic steps.  To read the PDFs, you will need appropriate software such as Adobe’s free Acrobat Reader.

Step 1: Determine Which Resource-Specific Federal and State Permits You Will Need
To get an overview of the permitting process for the renewable energy project you are developing, and to determine which federal and state permits are required for your project or facility, select the category below that best describes the type of project you are developing and review the applicable resource guidebook:

• Bioenergy Guidebook
• Geothermal Guidebook
• Hydroelectric Guidebook
• Marine and Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Guidebook
• Solar Guidebook
• Waste-to-Energy and Biomass Conversion Guidebook
• Wind Guidebook

Step 2: Determine Which County Permits You Will Need
To get an overview of the permitting process for the county (or counties) in which your project will be located, and to determine which county permits will be required for your project, select the applicable counties below and review the corresponding guidebooks:

• Hawaii County Approvals Guidebook
• City and County of Honolulu Approvals Guidebook
• Kauai County Approvals Guidebook
• Maui County Approvals Guidebook

Using the Guidebooks and Permit Packets
The federal, state, and county permitting guidebooks and corresponding permit packets are designed to help people understand the permitting process in Hawaii; they are not legal documents. Further, these documents should not be relied on exclusively to determine legal responsibilities. In some cases, permits and licenses that are not included in the guidebooks may be necessary to a particular project.

The guidebooks and permit packets were created at the end of 2009. Permitting laws, related legislation, and procedures for securing permits and approvals are dynamic and ever-changing. All process overviews were created with the intent that the applicant would contact the permitting agency directly and consult all current materials as provided by the permitting agency. Because the complexity of many of the permitting processes precludes detailing all steps in the guidebooks, the overviews are intended to provide a broad understanding of the process.

The Permitting Wizard, guidebooks, and permit packets provided herein are for guidance only and may differ from actual regulations or agency practices. The State of Hawaii and the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) are not responsible for any delays or losses caused thereby should the processing of a permit or approval differ from that outlined in the Permitting Wizard, guidebooks, and permit packets. Additionally, these tools are not meant to serve as substitutes for hiring a professional permitting consultant. DBEDT strongly recommends that each renewable energy developer procure its own consultant(s) familiar with these permits and approvals to assist it through the permitting process. DBEDT also recommends contacting the relevant permitting agencies as a first step in executing all permitting planning and processes.