We’ve made enormous progress — going from 6% renewable generation in 2008 to over 25% in Hawaii today. Just a decade ago, solar energy and electric vehicles were virtually nonexistent here. Now, in 2018, we have the most rooftop solar and the second most electric cars per capita in the nation.
It’s no secret that Silicon Valley drives the tech world. From smart cars to smart homes, California continues to boast the world’s latest high-tech innovations and developments. Yet many Californians still lack access to technological advancements that could dramatically improve their everyday lives. High-tech products and services are viewed by many residents in low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities as out-of-reach luxuries rather than attainable necessities. The innovations shaping the future of energy, transportation, water access, agriculture, and beyond are no exception to this reality.
Our mission is to transform communities through innovation. Every year, we scour the globe in search of entrepreneurs developing creative solutions in energy, water, agriculture, cybersecurity and transportation.
The Energy Excelerator approach is to think in systems. This means we look for ways to connect the right people, companies, and solutions to accelerate our path to 100% clean energy, not just in Hawaii, but across the world.
After 4 legs and 30 hours of travel, a third of the Energy Excelerator team arrived in Marrakech, Morocco, for meetings in conjunction with the United Nations COP22 conference. Amongst many noteworthy conversations, Dr. Jonathan Pershing, lead climate negotiator for the US, shared 5 key perspectives on the Conference of the Parties (“COP”) process and his focus for the next 5 years.
Aloha, Dawn here. As 2015 comes to a close, the Energy Excelerator team would like to recognize our fellow innovators paving the way for the next generation of cleantech leaders. There is nothing more powerful to me than working with others who are excellent at what they do and are … [continued]
What do Bill Gates, Steve Case, Nancy Pfund, Pierre Omidyar, and Will Smith all have in common? All Hollywood action stars? Ummmm…. yes, and, they are all cleantech investors. News flash: There’s a wave of philanthropic investing in cleantech that’s breaking open, right now. I’ll explain what it’s all about … [continued]
Originally published in Global Island News by Energy Excelerator’s Director, Dawn Lippert The grid has never changed faster, and this sea of change has its own navigators. We are experiencing this sea of change first, here in Hawaii. I recently attended the 2015 Aspen-Institute Clean Energy Innovation Forum, an impressive … [continued]
The past 2 weeks have been huge for the Energy Excelerator. The Blackstone Charitable Foundation and DENSO joined the Office of Naval Research, the US Department of Energy, the Hawaii State Energy Office, and Hawaiian Electric Industries in partnering with the Energy Excelerator. The Energy Excelerator supports innovative energy solutions … [continued]
This article is Part 1 of a two-part series discussing what the NextEra Energy & Hawaiin Electric merger means for the nation’s innovation landscape before diving into the past and future of Hawaii’s energy system. On Wednesday, December 3, Hawaiian Electric and NextEra Energy announced they will combine in an agreement … [continued]
