Hawaii
Energy Policy Forum > 2003
Articles
DBEDT director Naya is bullish on hydrogen
By Russ Lynch
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
October 19, 2002
rlynch@starbulletin.com
Hawaii could become a "hydrogen-based economy,"
using cheap local production as a new energy source to fuel
all kinds of developments, the Department of Business, Economic
Development & Tourism said yesterday.
That was one of a list of high-technology opportunities DBEDT
listed in a follow-up to a Year-2000 "new millennium"
report. The department set out to identify specific technological
developments that could get Hawaii away from its reliance
on tourism and broaden its economy.The hydrogen fuel cell
seems to be the answer, said the report, using Hawaii's natural
and renewable resources to produce hydrogen for use
in new fuel cells to drive automobiles, industry and a host
of other applications.
A study suggests that "geothermal-produced hydrogen
(on the Big Island) and biomass-produced hydrogen (on the
Big Island, Maui and Kauai) could all compete with gasoline
at current prices," said the report issued by DBEDT Director
Seiji Naya.
The study cautions that "neither Rome nor Silicon were
built in a day" and that tech-oriented ventures still
have a high risk. But DBEDT said a hydrogen-technology base
could provide a solid background for a lot of advancements.
Naya said in a telephone interview that he wanted "to
leave something behind." As a department head in the
Cayetano administration, Naya will depart when the administration
changes in January after the election.
The department has found opportunities for various research
fields that "can have a great deal of commercialization"
and some have already done very well in Hawaii, Naya said
yesterday.Among the players in research and technology is
the Natural Energy
Laboratory of Hawaii on the Big Island, which uses temperature
differences between surface water and the deep ocean to generate
energy, DBEDT said.
The University of Hawaii and private companies are also providing
valuable energy and biotechnology advancements, the department
said, citings mice-cloning and other world-recognized developments
by Hawaii scientists.
The John A. Burns School of Medicine being developed in Kakaako
is another step in the right direction, DBEDT said. In a 2000
report on how to help the economy, DBEDT said expanded technology
could become the new "growth engine" for Hawaii.
The state went after those opportunities, but the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks hurt Hawaii's tourist-based economy and
set those efforts back some, the department said.
Remedial efforts have been put in place but recovery will
be "a painful, long-term journey;" and while tourism
will remain the mainstay of the Hawaii economy, it is important
to look for opportunities that are not heavily dependent on
tourism, DBEDT said in yesterday's report.
In November 2001, DBEDT issued its "New Millennium Growth
Strategy," which listed the forces the department believed
would drive Hawaii's economy in the future, including high
technology.
The department said the latest report, called "A New
Millennium Growth Strategy for Hawaii's Economy: At the Cutting
Edge," is meant to show how an economy shifting more
toward technology, research and innovations can help other
sectors of the economy move into the spotlight.
For the full report, go to http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/strategy/index.html.
(c) 2002 Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- http://starbulletin.com
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