Eyes on Hawai'i

The island state of Hawai'i has set the admirable and ambitious goal of transforming their energy profile from one heavily dominated by fossil fuels to 70% renewable sources within one generation. Currently, about 90% of Hawai'i's electricity generation and almost all its transportation fuel is based in fossil fuels. Their proposed energy transformation, with a target date of 2030, will be almost total.

And there is every reason to believe they can achieve their goals. Hawai'i is blessed with multiple, reliable energy sources: geothermal, wind, waves, biomass, and solar. Using all these natural resources together will provide a diverse and reliable replacement for imported fossil energy, create jobs and boost the economy, provide energy independence to the state and dramatically lower the costs of imported energy.

As a nation, we will learn a great deal from Hawai'i's experience.