State Puts Out Welcome Mat for New Tech Firm
Lt. Governor Aiona recently hosted a State Capitol meeting with the chief executive of a clean energy firm that has developed new solar power technology for use in Hawai`i.
Photo courtesy of SolFocus
The Lt. Governor’s meeting last week with SolFocus CEO Gary Conley comes at a time when the Administration is looking to renewable sources of energy to reduce Hawai‘i’s dependence on fossil fuels.
The Mountain View, California-based firm’s visit with the Lt. Governor also coincided with its participation in a test project on the Big Island, where company executives introduced to the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai`i (NELHA) a concentrated photovoltaic system that relies on lenses to magnify sunlight 500 times.
The firm’s executives are in Hawai‘i to test the technology that allows them to produce almost as much electricity as standard panels with a far smaller system. Given high oil prices and increased concerns over global warming, the Lt. Governor and other officials have embraced the firm’s technology that converts sun power to electricity.
At the same time, the technology is reflected in the Hawai`i Clean Energy Initiative, a unique partnership formed in January with the U.S. Department of Energy to use renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, wave and geothermal to supply at least 70 percent of the state’s energy needs by 2030.
