Yep, in the mid '80s there were plans afoot (C Brewer) to build an orbital launch facility at Ka Lae to take advantage of it being the US' nearest piece of land to the equator.  The advantage is that the nearer to the equator, the more free boost the rocket gets from the earth's rotational speed.  This project was kicked around for a couple of decades but never got off the ground (pun intended).

To bring this back on topic, one of the big issues was "infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure".  Those facilities need a lot of juice and HELCO was in no position to provide it at that lonely and undeveloped spot on the Big Island.