Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, was an eventful day for Honua Ola Bioenergy, with regard to its proceedings before the Public Utilities Commission, as it seeks approval to begin producing clean, renewable energy for the Big Island.
Capping the day was the PUC suspending the evidentiary hearing for Honua Ola (referred to as Hu Honua Bioenergy, LLC in legal documents) that had been scheduled to begin Monday, Jan. 31.
Prior to the PUC suspending the proceedings, Honua Ola filed an Emergency Motion for Stay with the Hawaii Supreme Court, which followed a Notice of Appeal Honua Ola had filed with the Supreme Court two days earlier on January 24.
The Emergency Motion for Stay lays out a compelling case explaining why Honua Ola brought this matter back before the Supreme Court.
In the motion, Honua Ola expressed alarm about the PUC’s failure to follow existing law and the Supreme Court’s instructions for the evidentiary hearing. Also, the Commission’s decision to not require the parties to identify the exhibits being used for evidence in the hearing, and other modifications made to the hearing process just weeks before it was scheduled to begin would make it extraordinarily difficult for Honua Ola to make its case and respond to claims made by project opponents.
Emergency Motion of Stay Filed with the Hawaii Supreme Court
The introduction to the motion provides an overview of the issues Honua Ola is asking the Court to address:
The Court is familiar with the ongoing saga of PUC Docket No. 2017-0122 (“2017 Docket”), a contested case which has resulted in two appeals from the PUC’s final orders – and the Court’s reversals of those final orders – in less than three years.
Following remand and the reopening of the 2017 Docket for an evidentiary hearing to comply with the Court’s instructions, the PUC has made clear what it intends to do, regardless of the applicable law and evidence. In Order No. 38183, the PUC stated that it would not apply HRS Section 269-6(b) pursuant to the statute’s plain language and purpose, despite the PUC’s obligation to do so. In Order No. 38169, the PUC insisted upon holding the evidentiary hearing remotely and as soon as possible, without exhibit lists or written transcripts, despite the debilitating impacts that it will have on Hu Honua’s ability to prepare and make its presentation at that hearing and in any further appeals which may become necessary.
As a result of these rulings, Hu Honua will have to clear a significantly higher burden of proof than HRS Section 269-6(b) actually requires, with its hands tied firmly behind its back. In short, taken together, the Orders confirm that, presented with another chance to follow the Court’s prior instructions, the PUC still fully intends to kill Hu Honua’s renewable energy project again, without a fair and meaningful opportunity to be heard, even though the half-billion-dollar project is 99% complete and ready to provide the State of Hawaii with myriad environmental and economic benefits.
The evidentiary hearing in the 2017 Docket is currently scheduled to go forward on January 31, 2022. Hu Honua requests that the Court stay further proceedings in the 2017 Docket until the Court resolves this appeal, reverses Order Nos. 38169 and 38183 and remands again for further proceedings consistent with the Court’s instructions and applicable law. Otherwise, the evidentiary hearing will be nothing more than a sham, leading inexorably to a predetermined and erroneous result (emphasis added).
Click here to see the entire text of the motion filed by Honua Ola with the Hawaii Supreme Court.
PUC Suspends the Docket
Late in the day on January 26, the PUC issued an order suspending the docket for Honua Ola and putting a stop to the evidentiary hearing that had been scheduled to begin on January 31 until the Hawaii Supreme Court rules on the matter.
As the PUC order noted: “Given the unexpected filing of the appeal and the impending commencement of the evidentiary hearing, the Commission will temporarily suspend this proceeding, including the evidentiary hearing, pending further details regarding Hu Honua’s appeal.”
Following is the link to the PUC order.