2011 is a landmark year for Clean Energy. Recent technological advances, cost reductions and generous government support make investing in solar and wind generation highly lucrative. New governments in Maui County and Hawaii State have pledged their support for a swift reorientation away from oil.
Join us this Thursday, March 17 at 6:30 pm for a spirited discussion of investment possibilities for individuals and recommendations for Maui’s transition into an oil free future.
Chris Mentzel (in affiliation with South Maui Sustainability)
619 Kupulau Dr
Kihei HI 96753
808-214-7678
– no cost –
– please park above the house along the empty lot –
Energy Revolution
How to get Maui off oil by 2020
By Chris Mentzel
The central question about the introduction of renewable energy is WHO will do it. It’s not anymore about necessity, technology, finance and practicality – those have been proven and are available. But revolutions depend on the people who will bring them forward.
Consider the last revolution with massive impacts on our daily lives, the structure of our society and the distribution of wealth and knowledge. In a little more than a decade, people have embraced wireless technologies from the cellular phone to satellite TV to wireless Internet.
This change was not driven forward by government planning or the existing telecommunication companies with their huge investments in wired networks. Instead it was driven from the ground up by countless entrepreneurs, inventors and users that embraced a new technology and the autonomy it brought them.
In Bangladesh, Grameen Shakti has brought a network of ingenieurs and installers, most of them female, into place who have installed 1.5 million PV systems in less than 10 years. That was just the beginning, tens of millions are in the plan. For comparison – Maui has 800 PV systems, we are outrun by one of the poorest countries on earth.
In Germany, the Feed-in Tariff has created $130 billion in renewable energy investments in 10 years, ten times more than all the investments of the traditional energy sector. Income from clean energy systems mostly benefits the middle class, rather than large corporations. The law is so successful, that the government is trying to reign it in for fear of destabilizing the traditional energy sector.
In summary, the fastest progress has been achieved by involving many players in the society at large, especially when they are less hampered by laws or the involvement of the existing industry. Many small energy systems can be installed in weeks, rather than in years or decades like large power plants.
…to be continued…
March 14, 2011 at 8:39 pm stuartkarlan
On Saturday, April 17th, The Hawaiian Heritage and Environmental Sustainability Fair will be held in Paia, featuring sustainable companies and projects from all over the island.
See details.
March 14, 2011 at 8:15 pm stuartkarlan
South Maui Sustainability 