The astronomy industry in Hawaii spent more than $100 million throughout the state in 2019, according to a University of Hawaii study.
The UH Economic Research Organization today released the executive summary of a survey of astronomy-related entities in Hawaii found that three years ago the industry’s expenditures totaled just over $110 million. More than half of that, $57.18 million, was spent on the Big Island.
This marks a minor increase from 2012, when statewide astronomy expenditures totaled just under $99.5 million, adjusted for inflation, according to a 2014 UHERO report.
Doug Simons, director of the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, said much of the increase can be attributed to greater expenditures on Oahu and Maui.
“The biggest new expenditures since then was probably (the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope) on Maui,” Simons said. However, that increase was mostly balanced out by the ongoing effects of UK pulling out of its Hawaii astronomy partnerships in 2019, Simons said.
In addition to the $110 million spent statewide, UHERO estimates that the indirect effects of that spending had a total impact of $220.95 million statewide, $101.68 million of which was on the Big Island.
Simons said that, for example, an observatory paying a contractor leads to the contractors paying others, and so on down the line.
UHERO also reports that the astronomy industry generated 1,313 jobs statewide in 2019, 611 of which were on the Big Island. This is a decrease from 2014, however, a result of increased labor productivity, according to the report.
Simons said he suspects that the effects of COVID-19 since 2019 would not effect the numbers for 2020 and 2021 too much, because the ability to operate astronomy facilities remotely allowed the industry to withstand the pandemic more readily than others.
“What this is about is the effects on people’s lives and livelihoods,” said Greg Chun, executive director of UH’s Center for Maunakea Stewardship, noting that, in addition to the monetary impacts of astronomy, the industry brings educational opportunities to the state and support to families while not tied to the tourism industry.
“Part of our kuleana is to manage the public lands (on Maunakea) for multiple public interests,” Chun said. “The Maunakea Access Road is maintained by the observatories. … We wouldn’t have it but for astronomy, at least not in the form we have now.”
The summary of the survey comes out in the midst of discourse about the future of astronomy on the Big Island.
A bill was introduced in the state Legislature last week that would remove UH as the lessee of the Maunakea summit lands and install a new state office to manage them, leaving the future of the summit observatories in question.
Simons said the timing of the report is coincidental, adding that the survey was in the works for months previously. Chun said the survey required a great deal of cooperation from the summit observatories to provide data.
“We get asked this a lot: How much does astronomy bring in to the state?” Simons said. “And they kept asking, ‘Don’t you have anything more recent’ (than 2012)? So I’m glad we can put this out that, and that it can be melded into the conversation.”
The full survey will not be released until summer, according to a UH statement.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.