HONOLULU— Honolulu City and County Mayor Kirk Caldwell today teamed up with Hawai‘i Energy to officially launch the retrofit project of rental properties in Downtown Honolulu. With Hawai‘i Energy’s Energy Smart 4 Homes program, assisting multifamily properties, like Marin Tower in Chinatown, enables residents to reap the benefits of energy savings while saving O‘ahu taxpayers money as well.
Through the program, professionals installed energy-efficient showerheads and faucets, along with ENERGY STAR® LED bulbs at no cost, that will allow residents to save up to $160 a year. In all, energy-efficient equipment will be installed in 11 city properties, valued at more than $170,000. In addition to those incentives, the upgrades are projected to save the city $120,000, each year.
Earlier this week, Mayor Caldwell participated in A Resilient and Renewable Hawai‘i : How Hawai‘i ’s Mayors are Innovating to Create the Counties of the Future, presented by Hawai‘i Energy and Chamber of Commerce Hawai‘i, to speak about what Honolulu is doing to improve our state’s resiliency and energy efficiency efforts. Additionally he unveiled the new electric bus, a city project testing the incorporation of electric powered vehicles into its public transit fleet.
Also attending today’s event was Honolulu Councilmember Carol Fukunaga, Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission Chairman Randy Iwase, PUC Commissioner Lorraine Akiba, PUC Commissioner Jay Griffin, Honolulu’s Chief Resilience Officer Josh Stanbro and Honolulu’s Property Management Specialist Amy Pokorny.
“Reaching Hawai‘i’s mandate of 100 percent renewable energy by 2045 is going to take all of us working together, and each residential unit that’s retrofitted with energy-saving LED lighting takes us closer to our goal,” said Mayor Caldwell. “Beginning with our project at Marin Tower, our close partnership with Hawai‘i Energy will help O‘ahu taxpayers realize $120,000 in savings each year. We’re excited to see even more savings moving forward as we retrofit more than 1,000 city-owned housing units across O‘ahu.”
“I commend the City and County of Honolulu for its ongoing efforts to reduce energy costs in the City’s multifamily residential properties through the installation of energy efficient equipment. Ensuring these families are provided the ability and information to reduce their energy usage is crucial in helping them reduce their monthly expenses,” said Chairman Iwase. “Ensuring access and participation through programs like this offered by Hawai‘i Energy and in partnership with the City helps Hawai‘i to stay on track, and head full speed towards 100% clean energy by 2045.”
“It’s a priority of Hawai‘i Energy to make energy efficiency available to every person in our island state. Participants of the Energy Smart 4 Homes program receive help from trained professionals who install energy-efficient equipment in their units with the goal of improving the place they call home,” said Hawai‘i Energy Executive Director Brian Kealoha. “Working together with the City and County of Honolulu, Marin Tower is another strong example of bettering people’s lives, encouraging them to make smart energy choices.”
(Left to Right) PUC Commissioner Jay Griffin, Honolulu City and County Mayor Kirk Caldwell, PUC Commissioner Lorraine Akiba, Hawai‘i Energy Executive Director Brian Kealoha, PUC Chairman Randy Iwase, Honolulu’s Chief Resilience Officer Josh Stanbro and Honolulu Councilmember Carol Fukunaga.
(Left to Right) PUC Commissioner Jay Griffin, Hawai‘i Energy Executive Director Brian Kealoha and Honolulu’s Chief Resilience Officer Josh Stanbro.
Attendants and speakers listen intently at the launch ceremony of Honolulu City and County’s project with Hawai‘i Energy’s Energy Smart 4 Homes program, set to save taxpayers $120,000 annually.
High resolution photographs available on request.
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About Hawai‘i Energy
Hawai‘i Energy helps island families and businesses make smart energy choices. Hawai‘i Energy encourages and rewards energy decisions that will allow our state to reach 100% clean energy faster and cheaper. To date, we have saved the people of Hawai‘i more than a billion dollars off their energy bills. Let Hawai‘i Energy be your trusted energy advisor to help save you money and protect what makes Hawai‘i so special. For more information, please visit www.hawaiienergy.com.