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Energy

Workforce Boost for Solar Energy

Thursday, June 20th, 2024

Workforce Boost for Solar Energy

Molokai has a new batch of home-grown solar sales graduates.

“There’s a lot more to come, a lot more to build upon, but the goal is for everyone to seize this vision and make the commitment to renewable energy,” said Liliana Napoleon, Ho’ahu Energy Cooperative Molokai’s (HECM) project coordinator.

After completing a spring term course in collaboration with HECM, the ten graduates of the Clean Energy Solar Sales Training Course were recognized for the skills and knowledge they acquired at their graduation on June 10. The course focused on understanding the marketability and economics of solar systems as well as the technical features of solar installation.…

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Continued Care for Lahaina

Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Continued Care for Lahaina

On March 8, nearly a dozen Molokai residents headed over to Olowalu to help their Maui neighbors with a solar energy project.

Trained by the Molokai based Ho’ahu Energy Cooperative, the Molokai energy techs constructed a solar energy system from the ground up, explained one of the project coordinators, Todd Yamashita. The solar energy system, complete with panels, batteries and inverters, will go to support four tiny homes intended for displaced kupuna from the devastating Lahaina fires last August.

“This is an outcome of what happens when you empower our local Molokai people,” explained Yamashita.

The “strike mission,” as Yamashita called it, was the result of months of planning with Eddy Garcia, an off-the-grid farmer located near Lahaina in Olowalu.…

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Molokai’s Renewable Energy Future Looks Bright

Wednesday, November 15th, 2023

Molokai’s Renewable Energy Future Looks Bright

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Reporter

Molokai has completed its roadmap to take the island to 100 percent renewable energy. It’s the result of a community-driven planning process that energy officials call the first of its kind. Led by the Molokai Clean Energy Hui, residents are now poised to take the next steps in bringing their plans to reality. 

“All of the renewable energy we have [currently], which is about 14 percent, comes from 500 or so rooftop systems on homes and businesses,” said Leilani Chow. She’s energy coordinator at Sust’ainable Molokai, which has spearheaded the Molokai Clean Energy Hui. “And [up until now] everything else has kind of been rejected by the community because these projects were designed and proposed by off island groups that were just severely misaligned with community values and lifestyle.”…

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More Clean Energy Techs for Molokai

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

More Clean Energy Techs for Molokai

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor 

“It was the chance of a lifetime,” said Christina Bethke, one of the 12 Molokai residents who are now qualified to work as clean energy technicians. 

“I lived off the grid my whole life,” explained Bethke who was born and raised on a homestead. “Solar was my passion for decades now.”

Bethke and the other Molokai students just finished a four-month, fully-funded intro to photovoltaic training course put on by the Ho’ahu Energy Cooperative Molokai (HECM). The training was a hybrid of curriculum-based and hands-on learning, explained HECM’s training and workforce developer Liliana Napoleon, M.B.A. 

Napoleon explained that the course was intended to educate both in life skills and job opportunities, allowing graduates to transition from a “typical on-grid lifestyle” to an “energy farming lifestyle.” …

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Milestone in Renewable Energy Planning

Wednesday, August 9th, 2023

Molokai Clean Energy Hui News Release 

The Clean Energy Hui, a community-based volunteer group, submitted the Molokai Community Energy Resilience Action Plan (CERAP) 1.0 report to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on July 14. It marks another step towards Molokai meeting the 2045 state commitment for 100 percent renewable energy. 

The CERAP journey started in July 2021, when the Hui requested a PUC status conference to place on hold a Hawaiian Electric-proposed project at Pala’au and provide time for Molokai to develop their own community-based renewable energy plan. The unprecedented status conference request was successful, and the Hui began developing and executing the community-initiated and led renewable energy planning process in partnership with the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute which are the renewable energy technical advisors.…

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Grant For Energy Savings

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023

Hawaii Energy News Release 

Molokai nonprofits, small businesses and restaurants can receive grants of up to $6,000 for eligible energy efficiency projects through the EmPOWER Grant program. Applications will be available beginning Aug. 1 and must be submitted by Sept. 29. Organizations may apply for a grant of up to $6,000, depending on the equipment type, which may cover up to 100 percent of eligible project costs.

EmPOWER Grant funding may be used to cover the following expenses of energy efficiency projects: new energy efficient equipment, including HVAC systems, window film, ENERGY STAR® certified commercial kitchen appliances, and refrigeration technologies like motor controls and adding doors and anti-sweat controls to open cases; parts, accessories and other materials necessary for installation; labor for old equipment removal, site preparation and installation of energy efficiency measure(s); shipping costs for equipment and materials; taxes for the preceding items.…

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Ho’ahu Awarded Energy Grant

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023

Ho’ahu Energy Cooperation Molokai (HECM) was one of four organizations nation-wide to receive funding under the Energy Storage for Social Equity (ES4SE) Initiative. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) funding will assist Ho’ahu deploying residential islanded solar and battery storage nano-grids to 15 households in the Molokai community. ES4SE will support a BESS, inverter and controls, remote monitoring equipment, and look at ways to partner with HECM’s workforce development program.

ES4SE is designed to empower disadvantaged communities to consider energy storage technologies as a viable path toward achieving their energy goals.

“These organizations are fully engaged with ES4SE to find energy storage solutions in their communities,” said Gene Rodrigues, assistant secretary for electricity.…

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Molokai’s First Community Solar Project Nears Completion

Wednesday, June 21st, 2023

Molokai’s First Community Solar Project Nears Completion

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter

An array of solar panels anchored into the stoney ground near Kawela Plantation represent Molokai’s first completed community solar project. While not online yet, Molokai residents can now sign up for community solar. 

Community based renewable energy (CBRE) is a program through Hawaiian Electric that allows residents the benefits of solar power without having to own solar panels, which is especially beneficial for renters or those who can’t install their own rooftop system. Normally, solar panels are installed by electricians like Las Vegas Electrician on individual homes, requiring homeowners to make an upfront investment and manage maintenance.…

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Join Hoʻahu Energy to Interview Solar Contractors

Wednesday, June 21st, 2023

Ho’ahu Energy News Release

Hoʻahu Energy Cooperative Molokai, a grassroots group formed in 2020 to support community-owned energy projects, invites you to join us for our next virtual workshop on Saturday, June 24 from 9 to 10:30 a.m.

The workshop continues Hoʻahu’s work to co-design two solar and battery storage projects under Hawaiian Electric’s Community Based Renewable Energy (CBRE) program. Hoʻahu was awarded contracts for these projects by the utility earlier this year and is now in the engineering and interconnection studies phase.

At this meeting on June 24, we will be interviewing potential contractors for Hoʻahu to hire for the installation of the solar and battery projects.…

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Molokai Energy Planning Up for Review

Wednesday, June 7th, 2023

Molokai Energy Planning Up for Review

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

The first phase of a revolutionary Molokai community renewable energy planning process is wrapping up. The Molokai Community Energy Resilience Action Plan, facilitated by Sust’ainable Molokai’s Clean Energy Hui, began taking shape in January 2022 and over the past year and a half, its community-driven goals have garnered immense input and support, creating a road map for the island’s energy future. 

“Our vision is to develop a portfolio of clean energy projects that achieve 100 percent renewable energy for Molokai that are technically feasible and economically feasible… in line with our community’s values, our lifestyle, our goals, and are supported by the community,” said Leilani Chow, coordinator of the Molokai Clean Energy Hui.…

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