On February 19th and 20th, second year student Chase Livingston and third year evening program student Rachel James helped plan and execute the 2018 Molokai Community Energy Meeting. The Molokai Community Energy Meeting was hosted by Sustʻāinable Molokai, a local grassroots group committed to stewarding a sustainable future for the island of Molokai. The meeting organizers and presenters were members of the Tentou Network. Tentou is comprised of five nonprofit partners who share community power and engagement best practices from around the world. The project’s goal is to empower islands and small communities to lead the world in sustainability. The Molokai Community Energy Meeting was the Tentou Network’s first community energy engagement effort. Attendees included experts from Denmark, Japan, Australia, Maine, Greece, and Hawai‘i.
On February 19th, Chase and Rachel arrived on Molokai bright and early to meet with the members of the Tentou Network as they finalized the final strategy for the community energy meeting. Community engagement and empowerment is core to the Tentou Network’s model. Chase and Rachel served as rapporteurs, recording and distilling ideas from the group discussion, and prepared meeting materials for the following day’s community meeting. Professor Malia Akutagawa, Assistant Professor of Law and Hawaiian Studies with both the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge – Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies and the William S. Richardson School of Law (WSRSL), from Molokai herself, also participated. Professor Akutagawa provided the group with a local perspective and cultural guiding principles. She also served as the facilitator for the community meeting on February 20th.
The community meeting featured background information about the energy system on Molokai, along with information about Half Moon Ventures’ pending $28 million renewable energy project on island. Members of the Tentou Network each gave presentations about their experiences with community power at home. One of the tools utilized during both the planning session and the community meeting was a word cloud creator. The ideas discussed throughout the various sessions were reflected visually, in images that graphically highlighted words that were most frequently used.
On February 20th, members of the Molokai community gathered at Kulana ‘Oiwi Halau to share their goals for energy development on the island, and to learn from the Tentou Network’s experiences elsewhere. Chase presented background information about solar projects around the state. This provided a foundation for further information about the proposed Molokai project, shared by Maui Electric Company, Half Moon Ventures, and Enterprise Honolulu. WSRSL Visiting Professor Richard Wallsgrove also participated, answering questions and sharing how WSRSL’s faculty and students are available to help distill and clarify information related to energy law and Molokai’s efforts to build an equitable and sustainable energy system.
The community meeting progressed with constructive dialogue between all participants, including county council members, community members, utility representatives, community organizers, and developer representatives. Rachel created a word cloud summarizing the day’s discussion, which served as inspiration for the closing session of the meeting. During a community circle, each person in the circle shared their thoughts and takeaways at day’s end. The meeting concluded with a warm rendition of Hawai‘i Aloha, sung by everyone in attendance.
Chase and Rachel are continuing their engagement with the Molokai community and the Tentou Network as both groups work toward a clean, sustainable, community-built, renewable energy future.
