Hawaii
Energy Policy Forum > 2002
Articles
Hawai'i Should Lead In Alternative Energy
Jan TenBruggencate, Advertiser
Columnist
Monday, February 11, 2002
Honolulu Advertiser
Residents of Japan suffered
severe food shortages after World War II, in part because there was no fuel
to run farm equipment.
That set Hitoshi Maruyama to thinking: Oil won't last forever,
but it may outlast today's adults, so shouldn't we be teaching
our kids how to live in an oil-free society?
Maruyama was
a youngster working on his family's rice farm after the war.
Now, he is a retired biochemist and U.S.
citizen with a mission. Before the world runs out of fossil
fuels,
they will become more expensive. In small places such as
Hawai'i, that could make them essentially unavailable. "A
non-oil-based society is needed in places whose population
is not large enough to sustain their economic strength
under high oil prices," he said.
Maruyama would like
to see in Hawai'i a center for the study of the technologies
needed in the absence of oil,
and for
educating young people.
Such a center would benefit not
only the island it's based on, but also the local economy
by attracting tourists and
researchers from around the world.
Among his ideas are
that aggressive use of solar photovoltaics, wind power and
other
renewable forms of energy can begin
to replace oil-fired energy sources. Some of that energy
can be converted into hydrogen for use in fuel cells, which
can power vehicles and farm machinery for food production.
Plant
material - biomass - can be processed to produce methane,
which can be used directly as a fuel in engines
or to power
fuel cells. There may be no better place than Hawai'i for
this kind of work, he said. "The state of Hawai'i
is situated in a unique natural environment. It has a lot
of
sunlight, wind, mild to hot temperature year around, volcanic
activity and is close to deep sea. These contain a readily
available and infinite amount of energy waiting to be explored," he
said.
He also recognizes there may be problems. Some folks
don't like the appearance of windmills, for instance. "If
people have to live without any reliable energy, the scenery
cannot be the main concern," he said. Maruyama has
discussed his ideas with the state energy office. State
Energy Program
Administrator Maurice Kaya said a project along the lines
of Maruyama's suggestion is under way at the state's Natural
Energy Laboratory outside Kailua, Kona. The Gateway Distributed
Energy Resource Center, now in the planning stages, would
focus on alternative energy production, ocean sciences,
and education and outreach, he said.
You can reach Maruyama at mhito@qtnet.ne.jp.
Jan TenBruggencate
is The Advertiser's Kaua'i bureau chief and its science
and environment writer. Contact him at
(808) 245-3074 or e-mail jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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