Native Hawaiian Association Invests In Geothermal: A Smart Act Of Stewardship (Honolulu Civil Beat)
Opinion by Patricia K. Brand, the company CEO and a Director with Innovations Development Group. She has previously served as Chief of Staff to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ (OHA) chairman of the board.
Six to one. It didn’t make banner headlines but looking back, it will surely be seen as a game-changing vote. Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) trustees recently voted to invest in Hu`ena Power, the Hawaii-based geothermal development arm of the Innovations Development Group. In doing so, it endorsed the company’s efforts to bring to Hawaii the community-based model for geothermal development that IDG pioneered in New Zealand.
It is no secret that there are factions within the Hawaiian community. The OHA vote is significant because it attests to the fact that we, as a community, have been able to rise above what divides us to join together in common purpose: to tap the gift of one of our kupuna, Pele, to bring cheaper power to the people. Every household on Hawaii island that has felt the pain of paying the highest electricity bills in the nation, should rejoice.
Yes, this was a historic vote in favor of smart stewardship. It is a vote that says OHA will discharge its kuleana to help empower Native Hawaiians to lead where they were once excluded: in the arena of geothermal development. It is a vote that is important not just for Native Hawaiians but for all of Hawaii. The public generally does not know that geothermal energy is a mineral asset and in Hawaii, by law, that asset is owned by Native Hawaiians and the public at large. It is not something that should only profit private companies.
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