Weather and public safety have been at the forefront in recent weeks, and with more rain in the forecast, HPR checked in with Gov. Josh Green to discuss the damage across the islands and the strong efforts made toward recovery.
Hawaiʻi’s vulnerability as an island state lies not just with the weather, but also with the impact of the Iran War on oil prices. The White House has temporarily paused the Jones Act in an effort to ease the global situation with shipping — but there has also been drama swirling around Hawaiʻi possibly switching over to liquefied natural gas, or LNG.
Critics have been fearful of the costs; the governor has been in talks with a Japanese company to see if LNG can be part of Hawaiʻi’s future.
Read highlights from HPR’s conversation with Green below.
Interview Highlights
On recovering from the Kona low
GOV. JOSH GREEN: It was really good to see people pitching in with Salvation Army and the Red Cross and all the state workers that were out on the roads. And frankly, a lot of the private sector guys understood too, and they were sending meals out. And just, it was an exceptional moment where people were demonstrating the spirit of aloha. But having said all that, I would love it if there was not too much rain this week, because it's a bummer when the roads have to be repaired, or when we miss opportunities, or when it affects our economy, so we're mindful of all those things.
On preparing for the next storm
GREEN: We're still checking everywhere, lots of airport flooding, and that's going to be taken care of. And the road, road dollars will come in from the feds, of course. But yeah, when a tree goes down and it takes down a pole, you know, we had 200,000 people without electricity for a time, and I'm really grateful that that got repaired. … This time, the Kona two, this new one, does not appear to have heavy winds, but will be very wet. And so again, there could be landslides, there could be trees, there could be power outages. So, you know, just everyone be careful, have enough supplies at home, and we'll keep updating everybody.
On energy costs and adding LNG to Hawaiʻi's energy mix
GREEN: We have been too reliant on fossil fuel, specifically oil, for so long … and now with the war, you're seeing what's going on. I don't love this war at all in Iran. I don't personally think it's in our interest, or anybody's interest, except for keeping nuclear weapons away from them. But now oil is spiking, and we're very vulnerable if we were to suddenly not have access to oil that has to come through the Strait of Hormuz. … That is why I'm pressing to have a balance of a small amount of LNG, a whole heck of a lot of solar and wind, plenty of geothermal, and get us independent of this perpetual fight to have oil coming out of Libya and Argentina.
GREEN: On the table, I have the offer of over $2 billion of private investment. That's what you heard from this company called JERA, that are world leaders that come from Japan. Japan are our allies. That's a good opportunity for us. Another one-plus-billion dollars from the federal government in the form of a loan to HECO to help them, and then I believe we will see hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars from the federal government in support of this plan to have a LNG bridge with solar, with geothermal. Why? Because geopolitically, we are necessary for the federal government. Our military presence is relevant. … So we have an opportunity, if I'm constructive and pragmatic, to help our next generation have a lower cost of energy.
Editor's note: Hawaiian Electric confirmed to HPR that it has an application for energy project financing under review and consideration by the U.S. Department of Energy. The utility declined to comment further at this time.
On criticism of LNG and disputes over its reported savings
GREEN: When people pick one or two pieces of data and skip over 80 pages of great work? You just know what's going on. … And by the way, this energy plan is cleaner, you know, LNG is cleaner than oil. It actually will be cheaper than oil. And by the way, I have very few options, given the fact that the federal government really is not going to help us with renewables. So I'm trying to sustain our renewable plan, and I just am not going to stand by and be quiet if people take potshots at it. But there's plenty of time to discuss this and debate it, and I welcome that, because I want us to do the right things for our state.
This story aired on The Conversation on March 19, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
