Graded Minimal and steady. 2 laws, orders, rulings and local actions, each with its source, reviewed 23 October 2026.
No connection, own-power or reliability rule for data centers exists; the April 2026 resolutions only create a study group.
No large-load tariff or contract rule; SR 90 and HCR 206 (April 2026) are non-binding and ask only for a report before the 2027 session.
No siting rule or pause in force; Hawaii County's Bill 170 ban is still pending with a 4 Nov 2026 council deadline.
Hawaii has no data center tax incentive and no in-force action on one, so nothing to lose and nothing to gain.
No water, air permit or disclosure rule for data centers is in force.
Scored on rules in force, 1 to 5. 5 is the most regulated. Pending rules set the arrow.
Hawaii has no data center-specific law, sales tax incentive or large-load tariff that this research could find, and no hyperscale campus has been proposed. Existing facilities are small colocation and research sites. The only 2026 legislative activity found was a pair of resolutions, SR 90 and HCR 206, adopted in April 2026, asking the State Energy Office to convene a working group on how large data centers would affect utilities, ratepayers, water and climate goals.
The working group's report is due 20 days before the 2027 regular session, which could then consider large-load safeguards such as a megawatt threshold, developer-paid grid upgrades and reporting of electricity, water and emissions. On Hawaii Island, Bill 170 would declare industrial-scale data centers not a permitted use anywhere in the county; the Windward Planning Commission voted 5 to 1 on 1 October 2026 to recommend against it as too vague, the Leeward Planning Commission was due to review it on 15 October, and the council votes after both commissions report, with a 4 November 2026 deadline. The planning director has proposed a 10,000 square foot definition with a use permit for larger facilities instead of a flat ban.
No. As of 23 October 2026 no statewide or local moratorium on data centers is in force in Hawaii. Proposals and expired pauses are not counted.
Steady. Hawaii is graded Minimal, which means few binding rules, with new incentives or fast-track permitting in force. No state rules yet; working group studying and Big Island weighing a ban. The outlook above says what is pending.
Hawaii has no regional grid operator; its utilities connect large loads under state rules.
No. Hawaii's data center incentives were not pulled back in 2025 or 2026 as of 23 October 2026.
On Genloop's five-line rubric (1 least regulated, 5 most) Hawaii scores grid connection 1, power rates 1, siting and land use 1, tax treatment 3, permits and water 1, a mean of 1.4. The most regulated line is tax treatment: Hawaii has no data center tax incentive and no in-force action on one, so nothing to lose and nothing to gain.
2 items: each is a law, order, tariff, ruling, utility action or local decision that changes what a data center must do, pay or disclose, or where it may be built. Failed and pending measures are marked. Each links to its source.
Councilwoman Heather Kimball's bill would separate industrial-scale data centers from the data processing facilities already allowed in industrial zones and declare data centers not a permitted use anywhere in Hawaii County, with exemptions for public institutions such as UH Hilo and no effect on the existing Hawaiian Telcom site in Kawaihae. A council committee advanced it 8 to 0 in July 2026. The Windward Planning Commission deferred it on 3 September and on 1 October 2026 voted 5 to 1 to send an unfavorable recommendation because the definition was too vague; the Leeward Planning Commission was due to review it on 15 October, and the council votes after both commissions report (deadline 4 November). The planning director proposed a 10,000 square foot definition with a use permit for larger facilities instead of a flat ban.
Source: hawaiitribune-herald.comBoth resolutions ask the Hawaii State Energy Office to convene a working group, chaired by the Chief Energy Officer with DBEDT, the Board of Land and Natural Resources and the Public Utilities Commission, on how large data centers would affect electric utilities, ratepayers, natural resources and climate goals, including developer-paid grid upgrades, a megawatt threshold for large loads and reporting of electricity, water and emissions. The Senate adopted SR 90 SD1 on 9 April 2026 and HCR 206 HD1 was adopted in final form by both chambers on 27 April 2026. The report is due 20 days before the 2027 regular session and the group dissolves on 30 June 2027. Resolutions are not binding law.
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