HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-10-12 Hina Kneubuhl, Protect Haleakala Support
From:
To: Planning WPC Testimony
Subject: Keep Hypercale Data Centers OUT of Hawaiʻi - Recommend Bill 170
Date: Monday, October 12, 2026 2:43:48 PM
Aloha mai kākou,
My name is Hina Kneubuhl and I live in Pukalani, Maui. I represent Protect Haleakalā.
Please put forward a recommendation for Bill 170, but with a strengthened definition that uses the
5 megawatts of power threshold. This is really the most critical part. We cannot be vague. There have to be real, hard stopping points—actual numbers that are based in reality and not an
amorphous concept that can be manipulated.
Myself and others are trusting that the state had sound research behind their 5 mw limit, so I write in support of that language being adopted. However, it is important to know that even facilities that
size will consume large amounts of power and water (whether or not they are open or closed loop
cooling - check out the "non-cooling" and "upstream" water needs of many projects, which are
often still in the millions of gallons).
Just because we cap data centers at 5 mw, there also needs to be a cap on how many are built in
a given area. Put another way, the master plan for any area should take into consideration what
kind of feeling and quality of life is integral to that place - what makes Kona Kona? - and then make a cap based on how that is maintained, with water and power considerations also weighing
in. We hope most areas decide it's zero allowance, as they will provide little to no benefit to local
communities unless there is some sort of profit sharing built in.
Water will be a hugely limiting factor and I would encourage you folks to adopt language around
gallons per year needed to cool facilities. Also, and most critically, demand that projections on
water and power be made public for all proposals. It is 2026 and we can no longer keep
proceeding without all projects disclosing publicly what they will need in terms of water and power
to run any sort of facility, whether AI or manufacturing. It is impossible for counties to make
determinations without having these figures up front and keeping them secret from the public is
unjust. People should know exactly who is stepping in front of them in the water and power lines.
There should also be clauses written in about drought times and assuring that drinking water for
humans will ALWAYS be priority.
All cost must be borne by the centers themselves and the onus should be on them to provide
alternative power. When counties and islands are dealing with the world's richest companies, we
should NEVER allow for rules and regulations to pass the cost on to Hawaiʻi's residents.
In 2022, the Air Force pushed through a small to mid size data center (perhaps 2.5 megawatts,
but that is a guess from their backup generator capacity) in Kīhei. It's currently under construction
to service the seven telescopes they want to build on Haleakalā, which they came at us with in
2024. We are standing up against it. We will be carefully watching how you folks proceed with
setting policy, rules, and regulation for data centers, which our group does not want anywhere in
Hawaiʻi. These facilities are purely extractive in nature, fueling the wholesale theft of humanity's IP
that is AI and making the wealthy wealthier. We must keep hyperscale data centers out of our pae
ʻāina and limit the small and medium sized ones.
Mahalo nui,
Hina Kneubuhl