(Photo courtesy of The Governor's Office)

MEDIA RELEASE

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is granting the State of Hawaii more than $6.8 million for two solar energy technology projects.

The announcement by Energy Secretary Steven Chu is an example of the continued partnership between Hawaii and the federal government to move the state forward in its renewable energy goals.

“We are aligned with the Obama Administration in lessening our dependence on fossil fuels,” Gov. Neil Abercrombie said. “Renewable energy is also critical to sustaining our economy. This money will help us get closer to achieving our energy goals.”

Receiving DOE funding are:

* State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism – $750,000
Project will provide assistance to the state Public Utilities Commission as it sets standards in the state’s roadmap to resolve grid-reliability issues, and to help integrate renewables, specifically solar.

* University of Hawaii – $6,100,000
Project will develop and demonstrate two utility-controlled, smart grid-enabled photovoltaic (PV) inverters; one will be located on Maui. This technology has the potential to significantly reduce the impacts of distributed PV systems and facilitate their broader adoption at lower cost.

Earlier Thursday, Abercrombie helped “flip the switch” at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Sinclair Library, which completed its installation of 140 solar modules.

The 31.5kW-DC photovoltaic system will provide clean energy power for the library.