It’s been 15 years since Hawaii began its move away from fossil fuels under the state’s Clean Energy Initiative, a shift that has only intensified as the targets have grown closer.

The first goal was to produce 70% of its energy from clean sources by 2030, 40% from renewables, 30% from conservation. That was later refocused in a legal mandate to generate 100% of electricity sales from renewable sources by 2045.

The reality — that this will be a bumpy road, once the low-hanging fruit of rooftop solar was harvested — has been clear for some time. There have been some recent stumbles in the pursuit of utility-scale renewable energy projects that have clarified the challenge even further.

If anything, though, the challenges only underscore the importance of exploring new available options, and of extending the capacity of technologies already in use. The responsibility falls partly on the willingness of the public to support this mission, and partly on the determination of energy developers to invest in it.

That’s why it’s encouraging to see Hawaiian Electric enabling the expansion of its clean-energy storage through the participation of rooftop-solar customers.

HECO recently reached a customer limit for its Battery Bonus program, which offered consumers incentives for adding battery storage to their new or existing rooftop solar systems. But it also has announced a new initiative, called Bring Your Own Device, that gives additional options for participation levels, and the form these incentives could take.

It’s a complicated formula, but once the program launches March 1, enrollees would be able to commit to sending their energy to the grid at one of three levels, and to be paid for the energy in a one-time, upfront payment, a monthly fee or through credits for the energy they export to the grid during a set period.

Additionally, HECO is beginning contract negotiations with developers of 15 renewable energy projects on Oahu, Hawaii island and Maui. It’s welcome news, particularly given the the end of the utility’s Paeahu Solar project in South Maui, the latest in a string of large-scale solar/battery developments.

The new potential portfolio comprises three solar-plus-storage projects and four biofuel projects on Oahu; three solar/storage projects and one wind-power project on Maui; and three solar/storage projects and one biofuel project on the Big Island.

This set of initiatives represented the first time Hawaiian Electric required developers to submit plans for community outreach and benefits to be evaluated, along with technical and financial criteria.

That’s a key step toward community acceptance of renewable energy projects: Residents who are often bearing up under rising electric rates have to see that benefits of the transition to a greener economy will accrue to them.

But the public also has to contribute some of its own buy-in to the mission of reducing carbon emissions to the atmosphere. The effects are plain in everything from severe storms and wildfires worldwide. Hawaii has not escaped them, as the fire devastation on Maui has demonstrated, tragically.

Rooftop solar, with its minimal visibility, has been an easy sell, but the turbines of wind power have fired up the not-in-my-backyard impulse from the neighbors. Biofuels and geothermal projects also have run into their own barricades.

Decisions to accept energy alternatives can be difficult, and the need to strike a balance with environmental and social interests is essential. But it’s just as crucial that energy developers pursue an all-of-the-above strategy — and for the public to join in as agents of change.