HI SR52

Urges the Public Utilities Commission, Hawaii State Energy Office, and counties to allow solar farms to elevate solar panels and create housing units beneath them to address homelessness.

Cites 2022 Hawaii Statewide Point in Time Count data showing over 5,900 homeless individuals statewide, nearly 4,000 on Oahu, with 60 percent unsheltered on Oahu.

References the Cedar Farm Project in Waianae as an example of housing-first programs that provide tiny homes to homeless persons and could benefit from solar power options.

Identifies elevated solar panels with housing underneath as a potential compromise between opposition to solar farms and the need for low-income housing.

Directs certified copies be sent to the Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness, Public Utilities Commission Chair, Hawaii State Energy Office Chief Energy Officer, and all four county council chairpersons.