Training Brings Local Energy Expertise

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter
Through the Molokai’s Ho’ahu Energy Cooperative, nine residents are now qualified to install solar panels and migro-grid technology.
These newly certified graduates will be essential in reaching the state’s goal of 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2045, as well as responding to Molokai’s current energy and economic needs.
The Molokai trainees attended online and Zoom classes hosted by Arizona State University, before heading off to Arizona for a week of hands-on training. The trainees were all Molokai community members who “had shown an interest in the industry,” explained Ho‘ahu Program Coordinator Liliana Napoleon.
Molokai trainees were educated in “understanding safety protocols, reading manuals…stringing solar panels together, and understanding all the components of micro-grids.…