(HONOLULU) – Hawaii has found a new place in the sun. With a local in the White House and clean-energy tech booming, this sunny, windy island state is blossoming into an exotic garden of alternative power innovation with nearly $1 billion in clean energy projects underway. The aggressive new initiatives are driven by history and necessity.
Necessity, because Hawaii gets 90 percent of its energy from imported oil, while its isolation makes it vulnerable to frequent power outages (no neighbors to send in reserves – until wave power is tapped). Not-so-distant history, because native Hawaiian culture is rooted in respect for nature, a vibe that resonates “take no more than is needed and squander nothing that is taken”.
I have been working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA), National Ocean Service since 1999. Currently as the National Education Liaison for the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, I work with various partners, such as National Geographic Society and the Institute for Exploration on national and regional educational programs that enhance public awareness, understanding and appreciation of the marine environment, particularly America’s underwater treasures, known as national marine sanctuaries.
The solar energy sector enjoyed record growth last year, according to a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association.
The 2008 U.S. Solar Industry Year in Review notes that 1,265 megawatts of solar power of all types were installed in 2008, increasing total U.S. solar power capacity by 17 percent to 8,775 megawatts. That increase 342 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power, 139 thermal equivalent of solar water heating, 762 thermal equivalent of pool heating and an estimated 21 megawatts of solar space heating and cooling.
When last we mentioned electric-car entrepreneur Shai Agassi, the former software wunderkind’s grand plans had attracted commitments from the government of Israel but had no traction in the States.
And the greenest state could soon be… No, not California. Not Washington, or Oregon, or Colorado.
It’s Hawaii!
Or at least it could be. Maybe. The islanders have plantation-sized plans for moving off fossil fuels and into clean energy. Their goal: Meet 70 percent of Hawaii’s energy needs with clean energy sources like solar and wind power by 2030. That’s a bigger reach than any other state have taken, or feels able to take.
Across the country, 24 states have set firm goals for adding renewable power to their energy portfolio. Another four states have non-binding goals for their Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), as they’re called.
Most of these look to increase the amount of renewable energy to 10 to 30 percent of the total used by the state by 2015 or 2020.
Society and the Institute for Exploration on national and regional educational programs that enhance public awareness, understanding and appreciation of the marine environment, particularly America’s underwater treasures, known as national marine sanctuaries.
