There’s a lot of talk about making Hawaii “energy independent”
by kicking our imported oil habit. State government has set a
deadline of 2020 for utilities to generate at least 20 percent
of their power from sources other than oil. But what could we
use to power our grid? Here, we explore the alternative energy
sources now being pursued in the Islands. (page 1 of 4) Most
Island residents, familiar with curbside recycling battles,
landfill struggles and the container recycling drama might
reject that characterization, but none of those efforts has gone
to the heart of the power grid issue. Fortunately, Hawaii is
arguably the state with the best potential for a range of
alternative energy solutions. We’ve used them for years on a
very small scale in the form of home-built, galvanized-pipe
solar water heaters, bagasse-burning generators in sugar mills
and comparatively small hydroelectric plants on isolated
streams. But industry experts we interviewed suggest Hawaii is
now ready for prime time. Renewable energy