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Forest City "Flips" the Energy Switch

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Governor Lingle emphasized the critical need for energy independence at a ceremony to "flip the switch" and begin the operations of a new photovoltaic system at the Navy's Halsey Terrace Community Center in Honolulu.

Forest City "Flips" the Energy Switch

From left: Rear Admiral Townsend Alexander; Jon Wallenstrom, senior vice president, Forest City Communities; Governor Lingle; Thomas Kimbis, acting solar program manager, U.S. Department of Energy; and Rear Admiral Michael Giorgione "flip" the switch.

"Every step forward is important as we move toward energy independence," said Governor Lingle.

The project is part of the Forest City Military Communities housing partnership between Forest City, a national developer, the United States Navy and the Department of Energy. It is in line with the Lingle-Aiona Administration's Hawai`i Clean Energy Initiative.

Solar panels at the Halsey Terrace Community Center.

The initiative is a long-term partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy to use renewable resources – such as wind, sun, ocean, geothermal and bioenergy – to supply 70 percent or more of Hawai`i's energy needs by 2030.  This will reduce the state's dependence on imported oil and help bring energy stability to Hawai`i consumers.

"Hawai`i is blessed with the greatest variety of renewable energy sources in the nation," said Thomas Kimbis, the U.S. Department of Energy's acting solar program manager.

The Lingle-Aiona Administration is leading by example in the pursuit of clean and renewable energy. In 2006, Governor Lingle signed Energy for Tomorrow legislation, which initiated fundamental change in energy policy, and in 2007, the Governor signed the Global Warming Solutions Act, which mandates that statewide greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020.

The Governor challenged military leaders and members of the business community, "not to be dragged along by others' pursuit of energy independence, but to jump forward and set an example for others to follow."

 

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