Ho’āhu Energy Cooperative Molokai is structured as a consumer cooperative, ensuring that member-owners have the ability to directly inform the products and services the co-op offers through annual meetings and democratic processes. As a grassroots community entity, Hoʻāhu hosts public workshops to include the broader Molokai community in the design of its projects, including the Residential Nano-grid Pilot Program.
Hoʻāhuʻs ultimate goal is to ensure that every family living off-grid has the option to receive clean, affordable electricity, and to support a local workforce to provide those services. The Residential Nano-grid Pilot Program was designed by Hoʻāhu to serve the urgent need of families living without access to the electric grid with clean, affordable, reliable solar and batteries installed and maintained by local people. In this pilot, 15 families will be selected based on need to receive a PV+BESS system. The systems will be designed and installed by the graduates of Hoʻāhuʻs past and current workforce development programs under the supervision of a contracted supervising electrician. Hoʻāhu will own and maintain the systems collectively, assessing a nominal monthly fee for electricity provided, which will be forwarded to the maintenance and installation of new systems for more off-grid families.