For island and remote communities in the U.S., developing resilient electricity infrastructure and energy systems can be fraught with challenges. In Hawaiʻi, the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program (Hawaiʻi Sea Grant) was awarded $400,000 to collaborate with the Hawaiʻi State Energy Office (HSEO) to inform the state’s energy future. The project team will work to build trusted, long-term relationships with the remote communities most impacted by energy grid fragility and in need of multiple options for making the energy transition.
“Our team aims to help communities approach renewable energy in the overall context of hazard and emergency preparedness, rather than as a stand-alone issue. We are looking forward to building on existing outreach programs to further build individual community resilience,” said Amy Wirts, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant’s coastal lands program coordinator and one of the project leads on the grant.
NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program (Sea Grant), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office, is supporting projects in Alaska, Guam and Hawaiʻi that will examine how adoption of ocean renewable energy could support sustainable energy systems. Nationwide, Sea Grant and DOE recommended three projects for a total of $800,000 to conduct community engagement activities that will help illuminate community values, perceptions and cultural contexts around energy innovation and resilience.
By placing communities at the center of technology advancement efforts and gleaning on-the-ground information about local, place-based energy transitions, the results of these projects will be critical to helping inform DOE programmatic efforts that catalyze innovative energy solutions.
“It is critical to support these communities as they engage in the process of identifying, planning and developing the local clean energy resources that meet their long-term needs,” said Jonathan Pennock, director of Sea Grant. “Sea Grant is excited to partner with DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office to assist communities in effectively engaging with emerging energy technologies intended to secure a sustainable, resilient and equitable future.”
Community-based energy planning
The projects’ overall goal is to develop information pathways and build trusted relationships, and to support community-based energy planning to unlock ocean energy development. The three main elements of the Hawaiʻi project are: (1) expand the existing HSEO Energize Kākou community engagement program to include ocean energy and rural communities; (2) further develop the HSEO Clean Energy Wayfinders outreach program; and (3) build capacity for community and local organizations to directly engage with underserved communities to support energy transition.
Ocean energy systems can harness energy from the power of ocean waves, tides and currents, or even the differences in salt levels, temperatures and pressure. These resources are incredibly predictable, meaning ocean energy technologies have the potential to be important contributors to a reliable and clean electricity grid.
The project leads from Hawaiʻi Sea Grant include Amy Wirts, Katy Hintzen and Darren Okimoto. See the full list of project descriptions (PDF).
–By Cindy Knapman
