GOVERNOR GREEN ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER TO PRESERVE 2026 ENEWABLE ENERGY TAX CREDIT

News Release from Office of the Governor, June 11, 2026

HONOLULU — Governor Josh Green today issued Executive Order 26-02, effectively preserving the solar tax credit changed by Act 24 for 2026. This action protects investment decisions made in the past few months and addresses concerns expressed by Hawaiʻi’s solar industry, while respecting the legislative changes for 2027 and beyond. The decision affirms Governor Green’s Executive Order 25-01, which recognizes the fundamental importance of distributed solar to the state’s energy goals.

“Distributed solar energy has been, and will continue to be, a leading contributor to the state’s sustainability and resiliency goals,” the Executive Order reads.

“Executive Order 26-02 recognizes the critical importance of maximizing distributed solar resources, particularly on Oʻahu,” said Chief Energy Officer Mark Glick. “It demonstrates the continued commitment of the Green administration to clean energy for Hawaiʻi and immediately resolves the most pressing concerns of solar installers and customers around Act 24. This immediate relief also provides the solar industry with an opening to design innovative proposals for the 2027 legislative session.”

Hawaiʻi Solar Energy Association Executive Director Rocky Mould applauded the Executive Order, citing the critical role of rooftop solar in combating rising electricity prices. “Families, businesses and non-profits with solar have been able to cut their electricity bills by hundreds of dollars per month,” he said. “With each installation, Hawaiʻi’s grid becomes cleaner and more resilient — community by community, rooftop by rooftop.”

Hawaiʻi ranks first in the nation for per capita residential rooftop solar adoption. Rooftop solar covers close to half of Hawaiʻi households statewide, reducing demand on the grid and creating downward pressure on rates for all customers, including renters and lower-income families who have not yet been able to install their own system. EO 25-01 called for an additional 50,000 rooftop solar systems on Oʻahu by 2035, along with accelerating the state’s transition to 100% renewable energy on the neighboring islands by a decade — and EO 26-02 continues that support for a key solar resource.

Executive Order 26-02 confirms that a renewable energy technology systems placed into service in the 2026 calendar year shall not be subject to the annual $40 million aggregate cap on allowable credits created by Act 24, provided the taxpayer can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Hawaiʻi State Energy Office and the Department of Taxation that it reasonably relied on the ability to claim credits when it invested resources to finance, plan, design, permit or install the system before Act 24 was signed on May 21, 2026.

While protecting income tax relief for low- and middle-income households, Act 24 also made significant changes to the Renewable Energy Technologies Income Tax Credit (RETITC), imposing an annual $40 million cap on allowable credits starting in 2027 and sunsetting the RETITC in 2030. The language of Act 24 created uncertainty for some who had made investment decisions for tax year 2026, prompting this executive action.

EO 26-02 was prepared in consultation with the Hawaiʻi State Energy Office, the Department of Taxation and the Department of the Attorney General.

---30---

PBN: Gov. Green preserves Hawaii solar tax credits for 2026 - Pacific Business News

PDF: 2606058_EXECUTIVE-ORDER-26-02-Clarifying-Renewable-Energy-Technology-System-Credits-in-Tax-Year-2026-Scanned-Final.pdf (SECURED) 

“WHEREAS, the retroactivity of the RETITC annual cap presents a risk of litigation because it threatens to disrupt renewable energy investments undertaken prior to these changes taking effect….”

CLUE:  Illegally rewriting an act of the legislature also ‘presents a litigation risk.’