Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority

gems.hawaii.gov

250 South Hotel Street, 5th Floor

Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Telephone: (808) 587-3868

September 14th, 2016

Dear HGIA stakeholder,
I am writing to share the news that I will be leaving HGIA effective September 15th. A little less than a
year ago, I joined as Executive Director with a clear goal to develop a strategic plan to responsibly
deploy the GEMS fund and to build an organization at HGIA with the capabilities to execute this
challenging task.
The period in which we developed the strategic plan has been one of singular change in the States
energy landscape, and HGIA has had to move quickly to adapt. In spite of these changes, which have
buffeted both public- and private-sector entities, HGIA has made notable progress, including:
Funding our first consumer solar loans and making significant improvements to application
processes and administration
Developing and publishing the Open Solicitation for Financing Arrangements, which provides a
transparent and fair framework for evaluating the potential projects in the market
Advancing new, forward-looking programs including residential energy storage and community
solar
In response to the entirely appropriate public interest in the performance of this program, we have
sought to be transparent and frank about the challenges and opportunities. We have worked hard to
engage with our stakeholders, build effective partnerships, and continue to advance the mission of
HGIA and GEMS. HGIA and our board of directors continue to believe that GEMS funds will play a
transformative role in improving access to renewable energy technology and advancing the States
green energy goals.
I am grateful for your support as we led this transformation of HGIA, and for everyone who shared
with me their knowledge, experience, and passion for renewable energy. While much work lies ahead,
I am confident that HGIA is well positioned to partner with the community to remove barriers to
adoption of clean energy.
With aloha,

Tara Young
Executive Director
cc: HGIA Board of Directors