by HEC Team | Jan 18, 2016 | 2016, News
The 2016 Maui Energy Conference will bring together some of the best minds in the energy sector from Maui County, the state, and the nation. “The focus of discussion will be Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative’s 100% Renewable Portfolio Standard and it implications for Hawaii’s energy future,” remarked Frank De Rego Jr. who is Director of Business Development Projects at MEDB and a member of the conference program committee. “The strengths of the conference over the years have been the high quality of its speakers and panelists, the ample time to network, and the availability of the videotaped panel sessions to the general public at the conclusion of the conference on the conference website.”
Program committee chair, Doug McLeod, DKK Energy Services, LLC, adds “we are talking about ‘everything but when’. Hawaii’s Renewable Portfolio Standard tells us when to achieve 100% renewables (by 2045). This conference looks at all the other questions: How; Where; Why; and Who Pays are just a few of the obvious issues. Within ‘how’ and ‘why’ are important sub-questions about fairness and respect for Hawaiian culture and the environment.” “We have all benefitted from having Mark Glick, Hawaii State Energy Office Administrator, on the Program Committee this year. He joins returning members Bash Nola, Colton Ching, Jay Griffin, Jonathan Koehn, Holly Benz, and Frank De Rego as we work on a thought provoking discussion for March.” “Finally, the County of Maui’s energy consultant Guernsey has been invited to present their recommendation with regard to ownership of the electric utility on Maui.”
The Program Committee is excited to have Utility Dive participate in the conference planning this year. The Utility Dive panel will look at lessons that utilities on the Mainland can draw from the Hawaii experience with perspectives from a Hawaii PUC Commissioner, Hawaii’s State Energy Office, and Hawaiian Electric Company.
Professionals in the energy industry as well as individuals with an interest in energy will find the three-day professional conference compelling. The conference program highlights include eight sessions with topics including: Defining 100% Renewables; Community Acceptance of 100% Renewables; The Social Impacts of Pursuing a 100% Renewable Future; Educating Toward 100% Renewable Energy; Investing in Hawaii; The Hawaii Renewable Experience—What Can Be Replicated; Integration of Distributed Energy Resources; and Maui: A Case Study—Is This Where We’re All Headed?
The exhibition piece of the conference gives networking opportunities to participants who want to generate business, or connect and collaborate to address common issues and concerns.
The conference’s third day will move outdoors with two optional Maui Sustainability Mobile Workshops.
A discounted registration rate—a savings of $100—is available for the month of January only.
Register now.
by HEC Team | Jan 11, 2016 | 2016, News
Plans are well underway for the 2016 Maui Energy Conference and the program committee is shaping a very compelling program! Stay tuned for further program announcements in the next few days. Our planning team has also been working with our corporate partners to confirm sponsorship and exhibit plans for the Conference. Exhibit space is filling quickly, too, so we’d love to hear from your organization soon!
Why Attend the Maui Energy Conference?
- Gain a competitive advantage—learn from thought leaders about key issues in the industry
- Connect and collaborate—forge partnerships to address common issues and concerns
- Showcase your organization—generate new business through Sponsorship and Exhibiting
We’ve assembled an impressive program, noted speakers, and plenty of networking opportunities. Take advantage of special savings in January!
REGISTER NOW
by HEC Team | Dec 22, 2015 | 2016, News
Aloha and Season’s Greetings,
We are pleased to announce the MAUI ENERGY CONFERENCE, March 16-18, 2016 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center!
Join energy experts and stakeholders from across the U.S. to learn about the latest advances in clean energy and how Hawaii plans to achieve the new 100% RPS target. Explore Hawaii’s new energy planning model with us and see how it applies to your energy goals and landscape “back home.” The Conference will seek to answer:
- Are these targets realistic and are the utilities on board?
- How do you mitigate energy supply and price disruptions when transitioning from carbon based fuels to renewables?
- How important is having a diversified portfolio of renewable energy sources?
- How much will this really cost?
Visit the Program page for details on this year’s program.
And don’t miss the opportunity to boost your company’s presence at the conference with an early sponsor and exhibit commitment. The Sponsor & Exhibit Kit is available for download now!
Our Conference Program Committee and Team look forward to welcoming you in March and to answering any questions you may have in the meantime.
See you in the New Year,
The Maui Energy Conference Team
by HEC Team | Dec 16, 2015 | 2016, News
First Wind’s Kawailoa Wind project is seen in this file photo. Wind supplied 29.1 percent of all renewable energy in Hawaii in 2014.
Hawaii is a little more than a fifth of the way — 21.1 percent — to its new landmark goal of achieving 100 percent renewable energy by 2045, according to a new report.
The state’s previous target of 15 percent was surpassed two years early, in 2013, and in 2014, the figure increased to 21.1 percent.
In terms of resources, wind led the way by supplying 29.1 percent of the total renewable resource pie in 2014, followed by rooftop solar photovoltaics (27.3 percent), biomass (21.7 percent), geothermal (12.3 percent), hydroelectric (4.3 percent), commercial solar (3.4 percent) and biofuels (1.9 percent).
The 2015 Energy Resources Coordinator’s Annual Report, which highlights the state’s clean energy progress in the last 12 months, among other things, noted that Hawaii achieved 16.8 percent of its efficiency goal at the end of 2014.
The state must double this percentage by 2030 to reach the goal of a 30 percent reduction in energy consumption through efficiency measures.
The report also highlighted the 60 renewable energy projects located across the state, including 19 hydroelectric, 17 solar, nine wind, seven biofuel, three biomass, two waste-to-energy, two ocean and one geothermal.
These projects have the capacity to generate an estimated 150.5 million kilowatt-hours per month, which is enough to power about 292,874 Hawaii homes a year for the next 10 to 20 years.
The value of solar projects to the construction industry also was highlighted in the report, with a projection that $350.1 million, or 8.6 percent of total construction spending, will be spent on these types of projects by the end of 2015, up from $244.6 million, or 7.4 percent of total construction spending. The peak was reached in 2012, with $753.7 million, or 28.5 percent, of total construction spending.
Download Report: http://energy.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/DBEDT_2015ERC-Report_Nov2015.pdf
by HEC Team | Aug 8, 2015 | News
Originally posted on EcoWatch
Hawaii made waves earlier this year with the announcement that it plans to transition its electric grid to 100 percent renewables by 2045. This is the most aggressive target in the U.S. and it means that the state will serve as a testbed for bringing large amounts of variable renewables onto the grid. It should be watched closely by grid managers everywhere.
It’s no coincidence that Hawaii leads the nation in its renewable ambitions. As a group of islands, Hawaii faces unique energy challenges and it has worked closely with the U.S. Department of Energy to analyze the potential of solar energy and examine the challenges of integrating a variety of renewables into its energy mix.
From one perspective, an island seems like a hard place to use variable renewable energy like wind and solar. Island grids are usually isolated, so they can’t rely on power from the mainland grid when there’s no sun or wind. There are some exceptions, like the Danish island of Samso. Island grids generally have to pay more attention to backup generation and energy storage than mainland grids, raising the overall costs of renewables.
On the other hand, most islands rely on fuel imports to run their grid. These shipments of diesel, oil or natural gas are very expensive and anything that can reduce or eliminate them can mean big savings. It also means less reliance on imports, increasing energy security. So shifting to fuel-free renewables like solar and wind saves money on this side of the ledger.
How do these two factors balance out in practice? The answer is clear in the growing number of island communities around the world that are moving quickly to adopt renewables.
Read the full article on EcoWatch
