A new report puts Honolulu at the middle of the pack when it comes to advancing clean energy goals.
The nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy parsed through municipal energy policies and programs to create the 2024 City Clean Energy Scorecard.
It ranked Honolulu 29th out of 75 major U.S. cities. San Francisco claimed first and Akron, Ohio was last.
Honolulu received points for a program that retrofits certain fixtures, like light bulbs and shower heads, in low-income homes, as well its requirement that new buildings must be electric-vehicle ready.
However, the scorecard said Honolulu could do more to expand electric vehicle infrastructure overall.
It also recommended that the city set and track goals to reduce vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT), or the length and number of car trips that residents are making.
The Hawaiʻi State Energy Office noted that while the average number of miles each resident drives has stayed relatively the same, there's a growing number of cars on the road, leading to an increase in Hawaiʻi's total VMT.
The 2045 O‘ahu Regional Transportation Plan estimates that
transportation system improvements, including the completion of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, will reduce the island's VMT by 5%.
To view the full report, click here.
