Hawaii

The Green Energy Money $aver (GEM$) program, launched in April 2019 by the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority (HGIA), provides on-bill financing for clean energy upgrades to approximately 95 percent of Hawaii's population via Hawaiian Electric Companies (HECO) customers. The program targets low-to-medium income (LMI) households—specifically those earning less than 140 percent of the area median income—to democratize access to solar PV and energy efficiency measures. By tying repayment to the utility meter rather than the individual, GEM$ allows for repayment terms up to 20 years and enables the transfer of obligations between tenants or owners, overcoming the rental split incentive. In its first nine months, the program funded $6.6 million in solar PV projects, with 78 percent benefiting LMI customers, resulting in 1.6 megawatts of installed capacity and 12,000 metric tons of projected avoided greenhouse gases. The program is funded by the Green Energy Market Securitization (GEMS) program and is the first of its kind operated by a green bank.

• The GEM$ program provides on-bill financing for clean energy improvements, including solar PV, solar water heaters, and energy efficiency measures, to all 460,000 Hawaiian Electric Companies (HECO) customers, covering about 95 percent of the state's population.
• To prioritize equity and reduce energy poverty, GEM$ restricts eligibility to households with an income lower than 140 percent of the area median income (AMI) as of September 2019, utilizing a non-traditional approval process based on 12 months of on-time utility payments rather than credit scores.
• The program addresses the rental split incentive by tying the repayment obligation to the utility meter instead of the person, allowing the charge to transfer to new tenants or owners and supporting repayment periods of up to 20 years.
• During its first nine months of operation, GEM$ invested $6.6 million in solar PV projects, of which 78 percent went to low-to-medium income customers, resulting in 1.6 megawatts of installed solar PV and an estimated 12,000 metric tons of avoided greenhouse gases.
• The program is funded by the Green Energy Market Securitization (GEMS) program, which was capitalized with a $150 million bond issuance, and is managed by the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority (HGIA), making it the first such program operated and funded by a green bank.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (n.d.). Hawaii. https://www.eesi.org/obf/case-study/hawaii

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Hawaii. n.d. https://www.eesi.org/obf/case-study/hawaii.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Hawaii |url=https://www.eesi.org/obf/case-study/hawaii |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitutendhawaii, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Hawaii}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, url = {https://www.eesi.org/obf/case-study/hawaii}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }