LIHU‘E — An update on the Kaua‘i County Energy Sustainability Plan was presented to the County Council Wednesday afternoon by a representative of SENTECH Hawai‘i LLC, an O‘ahu-based consultant that was hired by the county to assist with managing the
LIHU‘E — An update on the Kaua‘i County Energy Sustainability Plan was presented to the County Council Wednesday afternoon by a representative of SENTECH Hawai‘i LLC, an O‘ahu-based consultant that was hired by the county to assist with managing the project.
Doug Hinrichs provided details of how the energy sustainability plan will be developed over the next year, a county news release states.
“Our target date for the completion of the final plan is January 2010 and we’ve set up a timeline on steps to be taken to achieve this goal,” George Costa, director of the Office of Economic Development, said in the release.
Hinrichs and Jon Hurwitch with SENTECH Hawai‘i serve as managers of the overall project.
Maurice Kaya, a strategic energy and management consultant, was brought on board to provide strategic guidance for the project.
Serving as team leaders are Diane Zachary with Kaua’i Planning & Action Alliance, who has been tasked with managing community outreach for the project; Hinrichs, leader of the energy team; and Hurwitch, who is responsible for integrating the community and energy teams.
“I am very pleased that our Energy Sustainability Plan is on track and is moving forward as we had envisioned,” said Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.
Between now and May 15, five community and 10 stakeholder meetings are scheduled to take place.
The community meetings will be held in each of the five districts on the island including: east, April 30; west, May 4; south, May 5; north, May 12; and central, May 13. More information on these meetings is forthcoming, the release said.
Simultaneously, an analysis of Kaua‘i’s energy use utilizing baselines and patterns, and renewable energy potential, will be conducted.
The integration team will then review the input from the community and stakeholder meetings along with the data obtained from the energy analysis, and provide an outline for the draft report, which is expected to take some 2.5 months to complete.
In November, a draft report will be rolled out to the public via webinar, followed by a month-long period for feedback.
If everything goes smoothly, the final Energy Sustainability Plan is expected to be completed by the end of January. It will contain recommended steps that the county in collaboration with the private sector can take to achieve its energy sustainability goals over the next 20 years.
In his presentation to the council, Hinrichs also provided a brief overview of current renewable energy options available in both transportation and electrical generation, an online survey designed for community input, Hawai’i 2050 Sustainability Plan, Kaua‘i General Plan 2000, Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative’s and Hawaiian Electric Industries goals, Kaua‘i’s electricity use and opportunities, energy initiatives and policies, barriers, strategies as well as conventional and emerging technologies.
• For more information on the plan, visit www.kauainetwork.org/energysustainabilityplan.asp
