Mar 4, 2020 | Environment, Events, Small Business
The Hawai’i Energy Conference brings together regional and national experts on energy policy, strategies, leadership and innovation. The 2020 Conference will explore the timely issues of beneficial electrification and the design of an equitable energy transition. Participants will take a deep dive into how electrification can be “beneficial”. As more functions are served by electricity, demand for electricity will rise. This opens pathways for more deployment of renewable generation, which supports the sort of ambitious decarbonization goals that state legislatures are enacting. What are the benefits, challenges, and practical limits of electrification? How can we break through economic, cultural and linguistic barriers to ensure that we have an energy system that works for everyone? Is it possible to create a transition that respects local cultures, is socially just, and protects our most vulnerable?
Come join us as we explore pathways to creating an equitable, resilient energy system of the future.
Sep 25, 2019 | Environment, Sustainability
Maui Electric Company has informed the Public Utilities Commission of its intent to move forward with the ownership and operation of four electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging sites in the existing EVohana network on Maui. The EVohana sites, temporarily owned and operated by Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), were initially established as part of the JUMPSmartMaui demonstration project, a cooperative venture between Japan, the State of Hawaii, County of Maui, MEDB, Hitachi and Maui Electric. Operating from 2011 to 2017, it demonstrated smart-grid technologies that could enable the efficient use of renewable energy on an island grid.
“MEDB, as a nonprofit organization, took on temporary ownership and operation of the EV charging infrastructure in an effort to keep the network in place,” said Leslie Wilkins, MEDB President & CEO. “We appreciate Maui Electric for stepping up to ensure our island continues to have access to reliable public fast-charging options for EV drivers. Without Maui Electric taking on some of these sites, the entire EVohana charging network would have been retired earlier this year.”
At the conclusion of the JUMPSmartMaui project, ownership of the charging assets were transferred to MEDB until a permanent owner and operator of the sites could be confirmed. MEDB partnered with Hitachi to create a new, temporary program called EVohana, which ended March 31, 2019.
Covering the Central, South, West and Upcountry Maui areas, the sites, allowing more EV types to charge, are located at the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center, Pi’ilani Village Shopping Center, Lahaina Aquatic Center, and Pukalani Terrace. EV drivers will be able to “pay-as-you-go” with multiple ways to initiate charging sessions, from smartphone apps to credit cards. Rates will be as low as 0.28 cents per kilowatt-hour between 9am and 5pm.
“As we work to add more clean energy to power our islands, EVs can play an important role in further reducing our dependency on fossil fuel and protecting our environment,” said Sharon Suzuki, president of Maui Electric. “We are pleased to add our support by taking on the four sites with lower charging rates that encourage plugging in when we have a lot of solar energy on the electrical system.”
This October, Maui Electric, along with Hawaiian Electric and Hawaii Electric Light, will be proposing a comprehensive electrification-of-transportation workplan that further details the companies’ expanded role in the deployment of EV charging infrastructure for Maui County, Oahu and Hawaii Island.
Sharon Suzuki, Maui Electric, President
Aug 7, 2019 | Environment, Events, Sustainability
The first community forum on 100% Renewable Energy: What Will Maui Look Like? took place recently at the Cameron Center in Kahului. Coming on the heels of the 2019 Hawaii Energy Conference and Exhibition, the standing-room only event, presented by Maui Electric Company (MECO) in partnership with Maui Tomorrow and the Sierra Club, outlined the challenges and some solutions for Maui’s renewable future.
“We’ll have different ideas on how to achieve our clean energy future,” said Sharon Suzuki, president of Maui County and Hawai’i Island Utilities. “Achieving the goal of 100 percent renewables by 2045 requires all of us working together. As Maui Electric starts to put more bids out to procure more renewable energy projects for the island, it will require informed energy developers, available land resources, and ongoing dialogue with our communities, regulators and government leaders.”
Moderator Mahina Martin, Manager, Government and Community Relations at Maui Electric, led the forum featuring the following panelists: Kumu Kapono’ai Molitau, Kumu Hula; Albert Perez, Executive Director, Maui Tomorrow Foundation; Chris Reynolds, System Operations Director, Maui Electric Company; Alex De Roode, Energy Commissioner, County of Maui; Dana Sato, Asset Management Director, Kamehameha Schools; and Rob Weltman, Chairperson, Sierra Club Maui Group.
Weltman said, “Maui can and must be powered by carbon-neutral, local, environmentally friendly technologies, including solar and wind. Contributing to sea level rise and extreme weather events through continued dependence on fossil fuels is not an option for our vulnerable island community.”
Perez described a community solar program. “The project provides solar energy to residential and commercial customers without access to privately-owned rooftop solar, including many renters and apartment dwellers.”
De Roode, on electrification of transportation, said, “Ground transportation today accounts for one quarter of Hawaii’s fossil fuels consumption and over one quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. MECO is focused on initiatives to advance the switch from gasoline to electric vehicles, helping to reduce Hawaii’s dependence on imported oil.”
Molitau and Sato agreed, “It is our malama ‘aina to care for the land− physically and spiritually. Together, we must understand the need to preserve and protect our natural resources for our future generations.”
As of 2019, private rooftop and utility-scale solar, biofuel and wind resources boosted the amount of renewable energy used to generate electricity in Maui County to 38 percent. We’ve exceeded the state’s goal of 30 percent renewables by 2020, lowered greenhouse gas emissions from our generators, and reduced the amount of oil we used.
Sharon Suzuki, President of Maui County and Hawai’i Island Utilities
Jun 12, 2019 | Environment, Sustainability
Molokai High School senior, Cameryn Rae Kahalewai won numerous awards, including first place overall in the senior division at the 60th Maui County Regional Science & Engineering Fair held at the Maui Beach Hotel. Kahalewai’s project, “The Effect of Soil Type, Salt, and Feral Animal Fencing on the Plant Distribution and Abundance on Kalaupapa Peninsula, Molokai”, also won her an invitation to represent Maui District in the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona in May.
“My project examined the effect of feral animals, soil type, and salt on the distribution of coastal vegetation,” Kahalewai explained. “Using quadrat plant surveys and soil conductivity measurements in two 100-hectare (250-acre) areas with and without deer, I found that soil salt levels were similar across all soil types except for sand. Lower readings for sand could be due to the prevailing wind patterns or soil drainage. Without deer, mineral and organic soil had larger percentages of plant cover, while the sand and mixed soil types had higher percentages of native species present. Comparing the impacts of deer on either sides of the fence, both native and non-native plant cover decreased when deer were present. Four key plant species were selected in the grass, forb, or shrub life form categories. All experienced a decrease in average percent plant cover when deer were present. Based on these results, we can conclude that deer are negatively impacting the coastal salt spray vegetation and species richness regardless of soil type. Fencing appears to improve plant cover, especially for native species growing abundantly in the sand.”
Kahalewai found that both invasive plants and free-roaming ungulates (hoofed animals) are causing detrimental impacts to native plant species. “I wanted to show that if ungulate problems are addressed in time, the remaining native coastal vegetation in damaged areas has a better chance to survive,” she said.
Biology teacher Jeannine Rossa said, “I saw Cameryn’s enthusiasm and understanding of the material develop throughout the semester. This is wonderful field-based science. Kahalewai hopes to major in both environmental science and business marketing in the Fall.”
I hope my research can inform both the Kalaupapa land management and the entire community of Hawaii about the effects of coastal salt spray, soil type and feral animals on coastal vegetation and offer plausible solutions.
Cameryn Rae Kahalewai, Molokai High School senior
Apr 3, 2019 | Environment, Events, Small Business
The 3rd Annual Hawaii Small Business Conference will be held at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on May 8 & 9, 2019, presented by the Maui Economic Development Board with the support of County of Maui Office of Economic Development. Business owners, managers, start-ups and entrepreneurs interested in increasing their business knowledge, sharpening their professional skills, expanding their business network, and taking their business to the next level are encouraged to attend.
Listen to experts and business owners on employee engagement, technology in business, video marketing, data protection, success planning, tax strategies and more.
Learn more at www.hawaiismall.biz
Mar 20, 2019 | Environment, Sustainability
First-place Maui County Regional Science & Engineering Fair Junior Division winners Holden Suzuki and Wilson Chau, Maui Waena Intermediate School STEMworks™ 6th graders, used the scientific method of photometric observations in their award-winning project, “Used Car, High Mileage”. “The purpose of our project was to view the compositions of asteroids through using color, the method commonly used by scientists,” Suzuki and Chau said. “We did this by gathering images of Elon Musk’s cherry-red Tesla convertible that he launched as the payload for the first flight of his new rocket, Falcon Heavy, in February 2018. The upper stage of the Falcon rocket pushed the Tesla car into an elliptical, heliocentric orbit between Earth and Mars.”
Suzuki and Chau explained, “The vehicle, having a known color, was chosen as the test object. We predicted that the vehicle would appear red because we used a method similar to the one scientists use to identify the composition of asteroids. We put data from three different filters into Astrometrica photometry software and got a color that was similar to white. Although the result wasn’t what we thought it would be, it ended up making us think more. We believe the reason it’s white is that the white booster rocket is still attached and flying with the vehicle. Given that the booster is much larger than the car, the results make sense. In conclusion, we learned that, even when we think differently at first, we have to trust our data. Some next steps would be to figure out how to get the white out of our data.”
Holden and Wilson’s mentor, Dr. J.D. Armstrong, Educational Outreach Specialist, University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy, said, “Some people thought there wasn’t really a car up there at all, so we decided to see if we could get some observations to support the claim that it was a car. The first thing that came to mind was to measure the color. This was fun and interesting science. Besides, it might be the real motivation for many of the greatest discoveries in science!”
We are extremely excited to represent Maui District in the Hawaii State Science & Engineering Fair on Oahu, set for April 8-10.
Holden Suzuki and Wilson Chau, Maui Waena 6th graders
Mar 13, 2019 | Education, Environment, Innovation
Maui resident Dr. T.S. Kelso has been tracking satellites for over 35 years. Kelso serves as a Senior Research Astrodynamicist and Space Data Center Operations Manager for the Center for Space Standards & Innovation at Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI). Throughout his career he has supported the space surveillance community by providing educational materials and data to satellite users around the world.
“My main job is running the Space Data Center, where we screen 748 satellites for 30 satellite operators from many nations,” Kelso explained. “We are screening these satellites to identify close approaches with other satellites and all the debris up there. Right now, there are 2,000 operational satellites in Earth orbit, and we track over 17,000 objects larger than 10cm. The real challenge is filtering through the hundreds of close approaches we see each day, so that the operators can focus on how to move in time to avoid a collision.”
AGI is a big supporter of education and has been a key sponsor for the annual Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies Conference (AMOS) Conference, a program of Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB). “Not only does AGI sponsor AMOS, but we have hosted a star party each year to introduce attendees to the wonders of the Maui sky,” said Kelso. “In addition, we have supported MEDB’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) programs with free educational copies of our software.”
Kelso also operates the CelesTrak website, the world’s first private source for orbital element sets and related software and educational materials. The site is visited by more than 350,000 users each day and supports everyone from professionals operating satellites in orbit, to faculty, students, and other researchers investigating the space environment− to individuals who just want to go out to see the International Space Station pass over.
Kelso concluded, “All the safety and security considerations of air and sea travel now pertain to space travel at a vastly enhanced level because the costs and risks are even higher. The event of spacecraft colliding is serious to our global economy and security.”
We can move satellites so they don’t get hit, and we do that every day. AGI designs software to predict close approaches of satellites. That’s my job; that’s what I do!
Dr. T.S. Kelso, Senior Research Astrodynamicist and Space Data Center Operations Manager, Center for Space Standards & Innovation, AGI
Mar 6, 2019 | Environment, Events, Small Business
Hawaii has experienced enormous growth in distributed energy resources, primarily photovoltaic systems. This year’s conference will take an in-depth look at the innovative policies and technologies that continue to allow rapid growth in PV, and will compare Hawaii solutions with those in Colorado, California and other states. We will also ask what the right blend of fossil fuel and renewable energy sources is for the portion of our economy not covered by the Renewable Portfolio Standard. Come join the discussion at one of the nation’s leading energy conferences.
Nov 21, 2018 | Community, Environment
In this season of thanksgiving, we can gain inspiration from Matteo Musso, a frequent visitor to Maui, is a 14-year-old author, speaker, yet mostly non-verbal autistic young man. After almost 12 years of silence, Musso found his voice by spelling his thoughts, one letter at a time, on a stenciled letter board called a flatboard. His inspired thoughts, wisdom, and tips on autism are now being shared with the world.
Musso has given presentations at the Maui Autism Center, the Wisdom Center for Autism, on Maui Source TV, and wrote an article in Maui Vision Magazine. His books, “I am Yours” and “Love Land” are available on Amazon. He also has a YouTube series, Mondays with Matteo.
“It’s been a long road that led us to the miracle of finally getting to know Matteo,” said his mom, Annette. “He was diagnosed formally at age three, and after many years of difficult therapies was introduced to the Son-Rise program. Through the Rapid Prompting Method, he learned to communicate using the flatboard, which acts as a conduit between his deep thoughts and the expression of them in an understandable way.”
Annette continued, “Amazingly, Matteo was able to tell us what he thinks his life purpose is. He said he agreed with God to be a voice for the silent ones on this Earth and to encourage all of society to stop judging each other and move toward total acceptance of our differences, to see them as gifts which can bond us together instead of separating us. We can lift each other up even though our minds work differently, and we experience life in varied ways. Our differences provide depths of perspective, giving us many gifts to share.”
In a message of thanksgiving, Matteo said, “If we desire beautiful and fruitful crops in our lives, we don’t get to be bystanders. Seeing the good is an active choice on our part. Search for the things that are beautiful in your day. Notice the beauty that’s around you no matter what’s going on. We can plan our healthy harvest, then harvest the happiness that we have nurtured—even through the storms.”
Through a recent miraculous discovery, his trapped intelligence released, Matteo now shares amazing insights of love, God, finding happiness, and the gifts of autism.
Annette Musso, Matteo’s Mom
