I’ve noticed that lately, I’m getting asked the same question: “What does Hawaii need to do to establish its place in the new energy market?” My answers have changed over time but a theme is evolving around what I call the 3Ps.
Policy, Projects and People
Policy: Hawaii needs faster permitting for energy projects, incentives for renewable energy, we need government to enable its land to be used for renewable energy and we need the utility to support green power to the grid. We also need government to set policies and get out of the way. The uncertainty around policies kill projects.
Projects: Hawaii needs to become the home for renewable energy project demonstration. We need capital, companies and technologies to converge on Hawaii and set up projects in a real life, real time grid environment. Critical mass and project diversity is required to make a compelling statement. We’re off to a great start on the Big Island with Geothermal energy, Wind Energy, Sopogy’s Concentrating Solar Power at NELHA, Sopogy’s advanced thermal energy storage at NELHA, PV at NELHA, Bio Mass, Cogeneration, Run of river Hydro, Hydrogen at the Volcano National Park and Algae research. Soon to come include Bio-diesel production.
People: Hawaii needs energy education, energy vocation and energy vacation. We need to seed, develop and export our energy intelligence.
I’ll continue working on this so stay tuned and follow along on Twitter as I use the microblog to vet ideas: www.twitter.com/sopogy.