28 April 2026

Hawaiʻi quadrupled its renewables. The energy prices got worse.

People often think of Hawaiʻi as a green-energy leader. The data is less flattering.

In 2024, renewables made up 21.3% of Hawaiʻi’s electricity generation, ranked #22 out of 50 states. Vermont generates nearly five times as much of its electricity from renewables (99.8%), and South Dakota, Washington, Idaho, and Iowa each generate more than three times as much.

Still, Hawaiʻi has made real progress. Its renewable share quadrupled from 2003 to 2024.

But here’s the part that should bother every ratepayer: electric bills did not get lower. They got much worse. A smaller ratepayer base is carrying both: cost of legacy oil infrastructure and the clean-energy buildout.

• In 2003, Hawaiʻi’s residential electricity price was 16.7¢ per kWh, compared with a national median of 8.1¢. The gap was 8.7¢.
• By 2024, Hawaiʻi was at 42.9¢ per kWh, while the national median was 14.8¢. The gap was now 28.0¢.

Over the same two decades, Hawaiʻi quadrupled its renewable share and the energy price gap with the mainland more than tripled.

That does not mean the clean-energy transition is pointless. It is worth pursuing for climate, energy security, and reducing dependence on imported fuel.

As a path to lower electric bills, it isn’t one. So far.