Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority Achieves Better Buildings & Better Plants Initiative Financing Goal

Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority
For Immediate Release: December 18, 2025

HONOLULU—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority (HGIA) as a Financial Ally Goal Achiever in the Better Buildings & Better Plants Initiative. HGIA has exceeded its financing goal of $25 million in funds extended for energy-saving projects.

HGIA is one of the market leaders partnering with DOE to drive energy savings and share their financing strategies with others. HGIA is profiled on DOE’s Better Buildings & Better Plants Solution Center. To date, Better Buildings & Better Plants partners have saved more than $24 billion in energy costs, and financial allies have extended $41 billion for projects that improve energy performance.

HGIA’s Green Energy Money $aver (GEM$) program finances clean energy improvements, including solar PV plus storage, heat pumps, solar water heaters and commercial energy efficiency upgrades, for underserved ratepayers such as low- to moderate-income households, nonprofits, small businesses and state agencies.

HGIA continues to accept residential and commercial GEM$ program applications to further expand energy savings across Hawaii and accelerate the state’s commitment to reach 100% renewable energy by 2045. Interested parties can visit the HGIA website: gems.hawaii.gov to learn more and apply.

“We are thrilled to be recognized for meeting our clean energy financing goals under the Better Buildings & Better Plants Initiative. This milestone reflects our commitment to making clean energy accessible and affordable for Hawaii’s residents, nonprofits and small businesses,” said Gwen Yamamoto Lau, executive director of HGIA. “We look forward to continuing to meet, and exceed, our goals as we work towards a more affordable and sustainable Hawaii.”

Through the Better Buildings & Better Plants Initiative, DOE partners with hundreds of public and private sector organizations to make commercial, public, industrial and residential buildings more efficient, thereby saving energy and money while creating jobs and strengthening the economy. Discover more than 3,400 proven efficiency solutions from these partners on the Better Buildings & Better Plants Solution Center website.

About the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority (HGIA)
HGIA, administratively attached to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), was constituted to democratize clean energy by making clean energy investment accessible and affordable to Hawaii’s underserved ratepayers, while stimulating private investments and leveraging innovative tools to mitigate risks and reach new markets. In addition to clean energy financing, HGIA provides credit enhancements and non-traditional financing to expand access to capital for small businesses and nonprofits statewide through the State Small Business Credit Initiative HI-CAP (Hawaii Capital Assistance Program), and administers the HI C-PACER (Hawaii’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resiliency) financing program. For more information, please visit gems.hawaii.gov.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Jenna Seagle
Community Outreach Officer
Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority, State of Hawaii
Phone: 808-206-2903