Hawaii may be best known for its sun, sand and surf, but it is also earning a name for itself as a hot spot for alternative energy.
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’s abundant alternative energy resources make it an ideal proving ground for several alternative energy options:
Wind Energy
Hawaii’s trade winds provide an abundance of clean energy potential. Two 30 watt wind farms on Maui and the Big Island are already operational. Two proposed farms on neighboring Molokai and Lanai islands will generate a total of 400 megawatts of electricity, approximately 25 percent of Oahu’s total generation capacity. Power from the farms would travel via an undersea cable to Oahu, where 70 percent of the state’s population (905,000 people) live. Learn more about wind energy projects in Hawaii.
Solar Energy
Hawaii also basks in year-round abundant sunshine providing excellent opportunities for both solar photovoltaic and solar thermal power. One solar farm already provides 500 kilowatts with the goal of delivering 1.2 megawatts by summer 2009. Hawaii leads the nation in the use of solar water heating with more than 80,000 installed systems. One out of three single family homes are equipped with solar water heating.
Water Energy
Hawaii’s famed surf provides yet another available alternative energy source. Researchers are exploring ways to turn wave energy into electricity.
Geothermal Energy
Hawaii’s volcanoes offer opportunities for companies to tap into the geothermal energy and more novel technologies include one venture involving a 20-megawatt ocean thermal plant that uses the temperature difference between the Pacific’s warm surface water and its cooler deep water to drive a heat engine.
