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For all of us watching from home, the voyage of the Hokule‘a has been an inspiration, as its crewmembers circle the Earth and grow the global movement for a more sustainable world.
Powered renewably by the wind, Hokule‘a is delivering a powerful message about the role of islands like Hawaii.
Earlier this year, another voyage delivered a similar message.
The record-breaking Solar Impulse 2 airplane shattered perceptions by flying around the world on 100 percent renewable energy.
This “island in the sky” spread a hopeful message: renewables are ready. Clean energy can provide reliable power around the clock — without changing the climate.
But Solar Impulse also carried another message.
To fly around the globe using nothing but the sun, engineers had to re-think the idea of an airplane from the ground up. If they had simply bolted solar panels to the wings of an existing airplane, it never would have overcome gravity. Yesterday’s designs don’t always work for today’s challenges.
This is an apt analogy for designing Hawaii’s path to 100 percent renewable energy.
Solar power has been a resounding success in our islands, adding over 15 times more renewable energy than experts predicted in 2008.
The solar boom helped tens of thousands of households get a handle on their energy costs, and it jump-started the state’s transition to 100 percent clean energy.
But like Solar Impulse, we can’t simply bolt on some solar panels and call the job done.
Under current rules, the electrical grids on Hawaii island and in Maui County will no longer accept new rooftop solar systems that share power with the grid. Oahu will soon join them.
As we cross this threshold, it’s time to ask:
What would our energy system look like if it was built by the Solar Impulse engineers?
What would happen if we re-designed it from a sustainable island perspective?
Islands around the globe are demonstrating clean energy leadership.
Iceland put its abundant geothermal and hydroelectric resources to work decades ago to rid itself of fossil fuel for electricity and heat.
The island of Tokelau off of New Zealand was one of the first to go 100 percent renewable using solar with battery storage, relying on backup generators that run on local coconut oil during long periods of overcast weather.
El Hierro in the Canary Islands uses an innovative wind power and pumped hydroelectric energy storage system to smooth out differences in energy supply and demand.
While taking different tacks, these islands use the same approach: Build an energy system around the renewable natural resources you have.
This week, islands are sharing that message of leadership on a world stage. It is a remarkable honor for Hawaii to be hosting the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress, a gathering of leaders from around the globe.
It is our duty to take seriously the title of this year’s Congress, “Planet at the Crossroads.”
That title reflects the urgent need for climate action — that we can no longer ignore record high temperatures, dying reefs and increasingly strange and severe weather.
This is the challenge of our lifetime, and we can’t rely on the plans of the past — like imported liquefied natural gas, a one-way power grid, an old utility business model,and fossil-based transportation — to enable tomorrow’s solutions.
At Blue Planet Foundation, we believe that Hawaii, and islands everywhere, can show the world how clean energy makes it possible for us to thrive without changing the climate.
And like Solar Impulse, that will mean re-inventing existing institutions, re-thinking old ideas, and re-designing energy solutions from the ground up.
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Blue Planet Foundation will be co-hosting a two-hour workshop at 11 a.m. today at the World Conservation Congress, exploring how island states are models for 100 percent renewable energy; it will be in room 319A of the Hawaii Convention Center.
Jeff Mikulina is executive director of Blue Planet Foundation.
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