Efforts to Diversify the Economy Continue

His intense year-long focus on clean energy and green technology came amid one of the most aggressive statewide efforts to boost Hawai‘i’s economy by helping to generate a new alternative energy industry that would allow the state to draw a big percentage of its electricity from wind, solar and water sources.

It was part of a broader effort by the Administration to reduce Hawai`i's dependence on imported fossil fuels.

The Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative, an unprecedented and innovative partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, seeks to have at least 70 percent of Hawai‘i’s power come from clean sources of energy within one generation - by 2030.

“Clean, renewable energy is the future,” Lt. Governor Aiona told a standing-room only crowd at a renewable energy summit organized in April by the Honolulu-based Blue Planet Foundation. “This isn’t simply a desire – it’s a necessity. Hawai‘i must change.”

Already, there are several renewable energy companies in the state, including Puna Geothermal Venture, which in December celebrated 15 years as a clean energy producer on the Big Island.  Lt. Governor Aiona has also visited others that are jumping into everything from wind power to ventures that might one day produce ethanol out of waste.

Still, Hawai‘i is the most oil-dependent state in the nation, relying on oil for about 90 percent of its energy. In addition, 99 percent of the state’s oil comes from foreign sources.

“Going green is more than a slogan,” Lt. Governor Aiona told executives gathered in February at a conference to launch a public education and awareness campaign. “We’re ushering in a new era. And all residents and businesses in Hawai‘i have a role to play.”