Robbie Alm, the Hawaiian Electric Co. executive who served as the public face of the utility’s transition to renewable energy, will leave the company Aug. 30, HECO announced today.

The company issued a statement thanking Alm for is 12 years of service. Alm joined HECO in 2001 as senior vice president of public affairs, and was promoted to his current post of executive vice president in 2008.

“Our company has gained so much from Robbie’s leadership in the community over the years so we understand and respect his decision to seek additional ways to contribute to our community,” said Dick Rosenblum, Hawaiian Electric president and chief executive officer.

“While we’ll miss Robbie’s vision and counsel, his legacy will remain in our commitment to a clean energy future rooted in what’s best for our customers. And we know we can count on his continued support.”

The statement quoted Alm as saying: “The time is right for this transition. In 2008, we signed an energy agreement with the State of Hawaii to move our state away from oil and toward a renewable energy future. Five years later, we’ve doubled the amount of renewable energy that is meeting our customers’ needs to 18 percent. And we’re well ahead of the state’s next milestone goal of 15 percent by 2015,” Alm said.

“Like most of us, there are things in my family and personal life that I haven’t spent enough time on. So I plan to spend the next few months focusing on those things, while still continuing to support various community organizations. And then we’ll see what challenges lie ahead,” Alm said.