Today, Hawai‘i is the most oil-dependent state in America…and this has to change! It means moving away from our current over-dependence on oil in favor of renewable energy…and that we do it more rapidly than some would like and others believe possible.
Governor Linda Lingle, State of the State Address, Jan 22, 2008
Our isolation in the middle of the Pacific, along with abundant sunshine, wind and wave resources make Hawaii the perfect candidate for leading the world in clean, sustainable, self-sufficient energy. Hawaii currently relies on imported fossil fuels for 90% of its energy needs.
Tracking news and information about Hawaii’s movement away from oil-dependence to energy independence is what the is blog is all about.
Hawaii – DOE Clean Energy Initiative
On January 31, 2008, Governor Lingle signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of Energy for the Hawaii-DOE Clean Energy Initiative. The goal is to decrease energy demand and accelerate use of renewable, indigenous energy resources in Hawaii in residential, building, industrial, utility, and transportation end-use sectors, so that efficiency and renewable energy resources will be sufficient to meet 70% of Hawaii’s energy demand by 2030.
Hawaii presents unique opportunities, both immediate and long-term, for energy sector transformation
- The state has abundant local renewable resources, including sun, wind, geothermal, etc.
- Hawaii pays the highest electricity costs in the nation and among the highest transportation fuel costs
- Hawaii has large, relatively unexploited opportunities for efficiency
- Oil provides approximately 85% of the state’s energy, leaving Hawaii vulnerable to supply disruptions and
- energy insecurity
- Each island is an isolated micro-grid providing an opportunity to focus on whole system
Under the MOU, Hawaii will become a testing ground for a portfolio of renewable energy technologies, including solar, oceanic, geothermal, and wind. The state will also pioneer financial, policy, and business models that the signatories hope can be replicated throughout the United States.
