The goal to transition to 100% renewable energy is a statewide policy, but for it to succeed it’s got to be something that the people believe in and adopt. And the best way to do that is to give more people a chance to reap the benefits.

That is why the Legislature’s decision to increase resources to a state loan program, which can boost the investment in solar rooftop systems for low- and moderate-income households, adds an important building block.

The $100 million appropriation to the Green Energy Market Securitization (GEMS) program — nicknamed “Hawaii’s Green Bank” — was a reduction from the $300 million infusion initially proposed.

But there’s reason to hope that these funds offer a significant advance, providing loans for installation of at least 2,000 more rooftop solar photovoltaic systems with battery storage.

The switch from corporate-utility-provided power, still largely generated by fossil fuels, to clean energy gains momentum with the addition of thousands of adopters, said clean-energy advocate Jeff Mikulina. Hawaii’s 100% clean-energy law might not have passed in 2015, he said, if not for the 45,000 homes fitted with PV systems by then.

That law is Act 97, which mandates that electric utilities in the state achieve a fully renewable-energy portfolio by 2045. The intent is to make Hawaii less dependent on fossil-fuel imports, along with their carbon emissions.

But it will be a tough reach unless the state maximizes the gains from proven — and increasingly affordable — technologies such as solar.

The latest infusion of money is a welcome reboot for the decade-old GEMS program, which stalled soon after Act 97 was enacted. GEMS was launched to serve households with insufficient income or credit quality to qualify for commercial loans — but relatively few loans were made, initially.

Unfortunately for the fledgling program, the state Public Utilities Commission in late 2015 voted to end “net metering,” an incentive for installing rooftop PV. Net-metered system owners had been receiving a credit at the retail rate for any excess energy their systems returned to the utility grid.

But more recently, the structure of the GEMS loan program has changed to become a revolving fund, replenished as the borrowers pay it off on their electric bills. It’s done more aggressive outreach to borrowers to avoid defaults, Mikulina said: With continuing federal supports, the number of solar-equipped single-family rooftops has grown to about 100,000, about a third of the state’s homes.

And there’s the possibility of synergy with the federal government’s solar investments funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. Having a local program in place can provide matching funds that are helpful in drawing down additional federal grants.

Other barriers could be taken down, too. Senate Bill 781, for example, sought to streamline the permitting process for solar. The measure’s goal to “lower administrative barriers to the deployment of energy generation and storage technology systems” would be advanced through strategies such as online permitting tools.

SB 781 got as far as a conference committee but never emerged at the end of this legislative session. Lawmakers can and should take another look at the bill in the 2024 session.

Nobody can predict what renewable technologies might emerge that could improve Hawaii’s renewable-energy prospects. Electric vehicles will play a part in increasing energy storage capacity, and other modalities, such as hydrogen power, may hold promise locally.

But it would be wise for Hawaii to take full advantage of this latest deposit in the “Green Bank” as the search continues for further solutions.