The topic of liquefied natural gas has generated much interest across Hawaiʻi. JERA, Japan’s largest power generation company, has sought to supplement the state's energy portfolio with LNG alongside oil and renewable energy.
JERA Americas held the first of two community meeting events in Honolulu on Aug. 3, which drew about 75 people.
The company will be open to the public again on Wednesday to answer questions as to whether LNG is a right fit for Hawaiʻi’s energy future.
To learn more about the events and what LNG promises for Hawaiʻi, HPR spoke with Erik Montague, JERA Americas vice president of development.
“We recognize that this is new territory for Hawaiʻi,” Montague told HPR.
“JERA understands some of the challenges that Hawaiʻi has with their kind of energy trilemma of affordability, reliability, and sustainability … and we have some learnings we'd like to bring to Hawaiʻi and hopefully help solve these issues and be part of the overall solution.”
The second open house event will be held on Aug. 5 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. Representatives will be available from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Pīkake Ballroom. More information can be found here.
This story aired on The Conversation on Aug. 5, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
