Hawaii is blessed with the most diverse array of alternative energy potential of any state in the nation. Blue Planet believes that harnessing the renewable, indigenous resources available on our islands should be common practice for economic, security, environmental, and health reasons.

Renewable energy is derived from natural resources that can be naturally replenished in a short period of time. It includes biofuels, geothermal power, hydropower, solar power, wave power, wind power and ocean thermal energy conversion. It does not include imported palm oils that have caused deforestation in many parts of the world. Renewable energy is considered clean energy because its conversion to useful forms, such as electricity, does not emit greenhouse gas pollution. By switching to local, clean, renewable sources of energy, we can eliminate Hawaii’s dependency on imported fossil fuels and foster a secure and sustainable future. 

 

SOLAR

     Solar water heaters absorb the sun's heat energy, but instead of making electricity, use the heat directly for hot water or space heating in homes, offices, and other buildings. Since water heating accounts for about 40% of the average electric bill, it is the most cost-effective improvement you can make for your home.
     Photovoltaic cells convert sunlight directly into electricity and are made of semiconductors such as crystalline silicon or various thin-film materials. Photovoltaics can provide tiny amounts of power for watches, large amounts for the electric grid, and everything in between.  
     Concentrating solar power technologies use reflective materials to concentrate the sun's heat energy, which ultimately drives a generator to produce electricity. These technologies include dish/engine systems, parabolic troughs, and central power towers.

     Who’s got solar?

One out of four homes in Hawaii has a solar hot water system. In 2010, 4,000 new solar installations statewide connected an additional 13 MW of power to island grids. Hawaii’s first utility-scale PV installation is located on Lanai. The solar farm, Laola, produces 1.2 MW of energy.

WIND

Wind generates electricity that powers millions of American homes and businesses and is one our nation’s fastest-growing sources of energy. Wind turbines, like windmills, are mounted on a tower to capture the most energy. Turbines catch the wind's energy with their propeller-like blades. The wind causes the blades to turn, which in turn spins the generator to make electricity.

Where the wind farms are:

Kaheawa Wind Farm on Maui produces 30 MW of power, with another 21 MW in development. The recently constructed Kahuku Wind Farm on Oahu has a 30 MW capacity. The Big Island has three wind farms—Pakini Nui, Hawi, and Lalamilo—that together add up to 33.2 MW of wind power.

BIOFUELS

The term "biomass" means any plant-derived organic matter available on a renewable basis, including dedicated energy crops and trees, agricultural food and feed crops, agricultural crop wastes and residues, wood wastes and residues, aquatic plants, animal wastes, municipal wastes, and other waste materials. Biomass can be burned to generate electricity, or can be converted directly into liquid fuels—biofuels—for use in our vehicles. The two most common types of biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel.

Ethanol—an alcohol—is currently made primarily from the starch in corn grain. It's most commonly used as an additive for petroleum-based fuels to reduce toxic air emissions and increase octane. Hawaii's gasoline currently contains 10% ethanol.

Biodiesel is a clean-burning, renewable fuel made using natural vegetable oils and fats. It can be created from plant oils (soy, kukui, sun flower, palm, jatropha, algae) or from recycled cooking oils. Biodiesel can replace the use of petroleum diesel fuel without any modifications to the diesel engine. Biodiesel is typically blended at 20% with petroleum diesel (B-20). 

Does this fuel smell like french fries?

Pacific Biodiesel, which converts cooking oil and plant oils to fuel, has facilities on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island that have a total capacity of 5 million gallons/year.

GEOTHERMAL

Many technologies have been developed to take advantage of geothermal energy—heat from the Earth. This heat can be drawn from several sources: hot water or steam reservoirs deep in the Earth that are accessed by drilling; geothermal reservoirs located near the Earth's surface, mostly in western states, Alaska, and Hawaii; and the shallow ground near the Earth's surface that maintains a relatively constant temperature of 50°–60°F.  
 

Where's the heat?

Puna Geothermal on Hawaii Island currently produces 30 MW of power and is in the process of expanding their capacity by an additional 8 MW.

HYDROPOWER

Hydropower is using water to power machinery or make electricity. When flowing water is captured and turned into electricity, it is called hydroelectric power or hydropower. There are several types of hydroelectric facilities, all powered by the kinetic energy of flowing water as it moves downstream. Turbines and generators convert the energy into electricity, which is then fed into the electrical grid to be used in homes, businesses, and industry.

Hydro in Hawaii:

Kauai currently produces over 24MW using hydropower. Small hydroelectric facilities also exist on Maui.

WAVE POWER

Wave power devices extract energy directly from surface waves or from pressure fluctuations below the surface. Renewable energy analysts believe there is enough energy in the ocean waves to provide up to 2 terawatts of electricity.
 

strong current:

In September 2010, OPT, Inc. completed the first-ever grid connection of a wave energy buoy in the U.S. at Kaneohe Marine Corps Base in conjunction with the US Navy.  

OCEAN THERMAL

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) utilizes the temperature difference between the surface of the ocean and the bottom of the ocean. Cold water is brought to the surface to rotate a turbine to generate electricity. Warm surface seawater is pumped through a heat exchanger where the low-boiling-point fluid is vaporized. The expanding vapor turns the turbo-generator. Cold deep-seawater—pumped through a second heat exchanger—condenses the vapor back into a liquid, which is then recycled through the system.

Cold water cools:

On Oahu, Honolulu Sea Water Air Conditioning (HSWAC) is developing a system that draws cold deep sea water (45 degrees F) onshore to heat exchangers, which will enable it to chill fresh water in a closed loop to be used for air conditioning.
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