HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-02 Laura Hughes Support Testimony
From: Laura Hughes
To: Planning WPC Testimony
Subject: Testimony in support of Bill 170
Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2026 1:32:46 AM
Aloha,
My name is Laura Hughes and I am a marine biologist and alumni of the University of
Hawaii at Manoa. I am writing in strong support of Bill 170 and am asking the
Windward Planning Commission to recommend one additional strengthening change
before sending it back to the County Council.
The original Bill 170 language uses subjective phrases like "industrial-scale operation"
and "beyond that typically accessory or incidental to office, commercial, or public
incidental uses" that a well-resourced developer's attorney can argue around. The
definition below replaces that subjectivity with objective physical criteria and a clear
20 megawatt threshold that cannot be disputed. The specific language I am asking the
commission to adopt is:
"Hyper-scale data center means any facility or campus of facilities whose primary
purpose is the housing, operation, or co-location of computer servers, networking
equipment, and associated cooling, power, and support infrastructure, including but
not limited to servers, network equipment and appliances, telecommunications
equipment, data storage systems, systems for monitoring and managing
infrastructure performance, environmental controls, fire protection systems, security
systems, electrical substations, generators, and redundant power supplies; and which
requires or is designed to require 20 megawatts or more of electrical capacity at full
build-out. This definition includes a single facility and any campus of multiple
facilities on contiguous or adjacent parcels under common ownership or control
whose combined electrical demand meets or exceeds 20 megawatts. This term
includes facilities commonly described as large-scale, hyper-scale, neocloud, artificial
intelligence data centers, and colocation campuses. This term does not include
telecommunications facilities regulated under Section 25-4-12, hospital or
government data systems, university educational and research facilities, or business
offices in which servers are incidental to the primary use"
It has been well documented that data centers gulp down fresh water while producing
enormous quantities of heat creating their own small scale heat islands heating the
area surrounding them by up to 16 degrees Fahrenheit in addition to the strain they
add to an already strained electricity grid. As the impacts of climate change continue
to accelerate our planet simply cannot afford to support the AI arms race. As the Big
island is still recovering from the impacts of hurricane Lala it should be made quite
clear that any additional strain on the electrical grid should be met with the utmost
scrutiny, data centers threaten already strained electrical grids.
Our island's closed water system, fossil-fuel dependent grid, and already strained
infrastructure cannot support hyperscale data centers. Please recommend the
strongest possible version of Bill 170 to the County Council.
Mahalo,
~Laura Hughes