Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) can be used by local governments to contract energy services companies (ESCOs) to leverage energy savings to implement a wide-range of decarbonization and resiliency measures. Such measures not only reduce capital and operating costs, but can also lead to significant decarbonization and increased resiliency of built-environment and transportation assets. The County of Maui (CoM), Hawaii initiated an EPC program in 2018 which, in addition to cost savings, has resulted in significant advancements in decarbonization and resiliency. A literature review was conducted to identify best practices and lessons learned in EPC applied within local governments. A case study approach was also used based on the author’s direct experience serving as a lead member of a team within the CoM who planned and implemented EPC within the organization over a four-year period from 2018–2022. A qualitative and quantitative assessment of decarbonization and resiliency benefits achieved by the CoM through its EPC initiative was conducted, as well as best practices for project development and project management. The CoM’s EPC program resulted in advancing decarbonization and resiliency in operations and infrastructure. This EPC program has resulted in the implementation of substantial energy and water conservation measures, renewable energy and energy storage measures, and clean transportation measures that may otherwise not have been implemented or would have taken significantly longer to implement. To address deferred maintenance, public procurement obstacles, and a lack of available budgets, local governments should utilize EPC as an important tool to advance decarbonization, resiliency, and equity within their organizations and local communities.

Local communities have resources available from various sources to support climate action initiatives. Although federal and state governments and large organizations can play important roles in supporting local climate action, local governments and community-based organizations are best able to implement tangible action within their local communities. These actors serve as funnels for bringing outside resources to address community needs, and can also significantly influence legislative and budget priorities. A qualitative assessment of efforts in the County of Maui, Hawai'i was conducted to assess the organizational structure, processes, and programs in place to meet local climate action needs. Although substantive efforts are underway by the County of Maui, there is an opportunity to improve consistency, transparency, and follow-through of its approach. Recommended structural, process, and programmatic improvements include: improving collaboration with local partners; increasing transparency of programs and processes to increase community trust and access to climate action efforts; prioritizing hazard mitigation and climate adaptation; adopting adaptive and transformative learning approaches; and establishing permanent staffing and programs dedicated to climate action to eliminate politicization, loss of institutional memory, lack of follow-through, and duplication of climate action efforts. To ensure local community needs are addressed, local government needs to establish transparent, effective, and efficient ways for local community to co-create and participate in initiatives established to address their needs and ensure that informed decisions are made using science-based targets and nature-based solutions coupled with local- and place-based knowledge, and traditional ecological knowledge.

Resilience hubs are buildings that enhance community cohesion during normal operations, while also enhancing resilience during emergencies. Maui Island is part of the Hawaiian archipelago, approximately 2500 miles from the nearest major continent. Due to its remote location, Maui is ideal to pilot projects that enhance resilience in isolated communities. At the neighborhood-scale, there is a need for establishing sites that empower communities to strengthen their cohesion, resilience and self-sufficiency. This can be achieved by investing in facilities that offer critical community services during emergencies (e.g. backup power, telecommunications, medical supplies, shelter from weather, and food and water rations). Ideally, local communities have a sense of ownership of resilience hubs and frequently use them during both normal and emergency periods. This ensures that hubs are accepted and trusted. Use cases presented in this research offer a methodology for assessing the suitability of proposed resilience hub pilot sites. Resilience hubs must also be assessed for vulnerabilities to climate change impacts and natural disasters, such as flooding, tsunamis, hurricanes, wildfires, and sea level rise. Resilient power systems can be developed for resilience hubs to ensure services are powered whether the power grid is operational or down, as well as to provide additional benefits during normal periods. These methodologies can be used by communities pursuing the establishment of resilience hubs. The highlighted methodologies are particularly applicable to island communities, coastal areas and remote locations, which are disproportionately affected by climate change impacts and natural disasters. This research paper describes three sites on Maui assessed for their suitability as resilience hubs by using the aforementioned methodologies. This research provides a methodology for establishing local resilience hubs on Maui, and how to upscale for application in other communities facing similar conditions. Once established, resilience hubs become a critical part of community resilience planning, while providing year-round benefits and services to local residents and enhancing community cohesion and emergency response and recovery capabilities.

As a part of an integrated approach to formulating a plan and comprehensive program for facing natural disasters, human settlements need to first understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) within their own localized communities with respect to such disasters. A starting point is to engage local communities in order to assess their baseline understanding of community capacity and capabilities, and to identify and synergize already established disaster prevention and response programs, systems and initiatives. Maui Island, located in the State of Hawaii within the United States of America, was used as a case study to highlight specific opportunities and constraints that selected communities located on Maui Island face in their decision making for energy resilience. Relevant stakeholder groups and their respective roles in disaster mitigation and response are described. Methods for how best to engage local communities around such topics are described, including community surveys, stakeholder workshops, community working groups, and community forums. Methods for how to assess community capacity and capabilities around disaster resilience are also described, including identifying key stakeholders representing a cross section of the local community and studying community response to past disaster events in order to identify successes, best practices, failures and lessons learned. More specifically, this paper provides a deeper understanding of the opportunities and constraints associated with energy infrastructure on Maui Island when seeking to optimize for energy resilience in the face of natural disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis, flooding and earthquakes. This baseline inventory of energy resilience for selected Maui communities is assessed at the community level. Further research will then apply an adapted methodology to an analysis at the building cluster or district level. This framework can serve to inform similar communities seeking to enhance their energy resilience through bottom-up community engagement.