Energy cost savings for tens of thousands of local families. Less carbon pollution. Thousands of new living-wage jobs. More resilient communities powered by solar energy plus battery storage.

Rarely does a single action by the Legislature have the potential for such broad positive impact. Yet this is exactly the opportunity state lawmakers have before them by funding Hawaii’s Green Infrastructure Authority, or Green Bank. Through an appropriation of $300 million from the state surplus — currently the House position — the Legislature can equip the Green Bank to help install solar energy on tens of thousands of households that currently are struggling to make ends meet.

What’s more, that amount can be doubled or tripled by leveraging recently available federal funds. The stars are aligned to rapidly accelerate our clean energy progress while helping families who need it the most.

It may strike you as curious that a developer and a sustainability advocate are co-authoring this commentary, but that’s the magic behind the newly formed Climate Coalition, an initiative of the Hawai‘i Executive Collaborative. The Climate Coalition seeks to address the systemic barriers that impede meaningful climate action in Hawaii. We are building a brave collaboration between businesses, environmental groups and other organizations that may not always agree, but share a common sense of urgency around our climate crisis.

That’s why organizations as diverse as Zippy’s, Kaiser Permanente, Young Brothers, unions and nonprofits are joining forces in support of this $300 million Green Bank appropriation. They see its potential to help so many local residents cut energy costs while reducing our contribution to climate change.

What makes this appropriation so powerful is that its impact will be multiplied many times over. Hawaii’s Green Bank plans to use the $300 million appropriation as matching dollars to unlock $300 million to $600 million more from the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This funding also would be recycled. Through the Green Bank’s revolving loan fund, solar loan repayments and interest payments will flow back into the fund to be redeployed again and again in the future.

Hawaii’s Green Bank already has been incredibly successful at lowering electricity costs for households across the islands — particularly those characterized as “asset limited, income constrained, employed,” or ALICE, families. Through the end of 2022, the Green Bank has served more than 1,000 Hawaii households, 83% of which are considered “underserved.” Overall, the program has helped save nearly 1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and avoided the generation of over 280,000 metric tons of carbon pollution — all while supporting more than 1,300 local jobs in the clean energy sector. The program helps relieve energy costs as soon as solar is installed — targeting a minimum of 10% bill reduction, including the loan repayment — while providing reliable, clean power.

Achieving Hawaii’s climate goals requires that we maximize rooftop solar installations statewide. Hawaiian Electric’s recent long-term plan forecasts the need to use solar on nearly every available rooftop given the islands’ land constraints — nearly 50,000 additional rooftop systems are required by 2030.

But which homes will get these systems? Critically, nearly half of Hawaii’s families are classified as ALICE households. These families face disproportionate financial burdens with high inflation and record electricity costs, and many don’t qualify for traditional financing. Every additional dollar appropriated to the Green Bank will help us close the estimated $3.75 billion financing gap, allowing underserved households to participate in the benefits of clean energy.

By appropriating $300 million to Hawai‘i’s Green Bank this year, we can help ensure that no one gets left behind in our renewable energy revolution.

Let your lawmakers know that you support this equitable, inclusive investment in our low-cost, low-carbon future.

Chris Benjamin is CEO of Alexander & Baldwin and co-chair of the Climate Coalition. Jeffrey Mikulina is the Climate Coalition’s director.