Hawaii Natural Energy Institute Research Articles

Hawaii: An International Model for Methanol from Biomass

Abstract The state of Hawaii is 90% dependent upon imported petroleum today but has embarked on a transition program to shift to indigenous renewable energy resources. Hawaii, like most tropical islands, has no fossil fuels (oil, gas, or coal) but has abundant renewable energy resources in fast growing biomass For the past 12 years, considerable work has been under way in Hawaii on the research and development of biomass and biofuels. The Hawaii Natural Energy Institute was established by the state Legislature in 1976 to be the lead agency in the state for the research and development of renewable energy. An important component in this effort has been also to examine the environmental impacts and safety aspects of renewable energy technologies, which in general have proved to be vastly superior to alternatives such as coal and nuclear energy This article summarizes progress to date in Hawaii's methanol-from-biomass research program. Although tropical island communities are somewhat unique, there is much that can be learned from a specific island in meeting future energy needs by means of its own indigenous renewable energy potential. Hawaii has become a model for tropical island communities.

Thermochemical production of methanol from biomass in Hawaii

Sufficient trees or grasses can be grown in Hawaii and converted into enough methanol to replace all of the gasoline and diesel fuel consumed in the State for ground transportation. A recent Hawaii Natural Energy Institute study shows that methanol can be produced from biomass via partial oxidation for $0·16 liter −1 (wholesale price at the plant gate), based on a 760 million liter per year (MLPY) methanol plant processing 7000 tonnes day −1 of biomass feedstock (50% moisture content) from a recurring annual harvest of approximately 36 000 hectares of intensively managed, short-rotation energy crops. The capital cost of this methanol-from-biomass facility would be roughly $280 million. Sufficient hydrogen added to the synthesis gas to convert all of the biomass carbon into methanol carbon would more than double the methanol produced from the same biomass base, yielding 1700 MLPY at $0·28 liter −1 at a capital cost of $335 million.

Hawaii organizes new school

The University of Hawaii, Honolulu, has brought together several existing Earth science programs to create a new School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. SOEST will incorporate the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, the departments of Geology, Geophysics, Meteorology, Oceanography, and Ocean Engineering, the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory, the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, and the Sea Grant College Program. Charles Helsley is acting dean of the new school.In announcing the establishment of the new school, the University of Hawaii's president, Albert J. Simone, said that with the Exclusive Economic Zone, Hawaii is the second largest state in the nation. Hawaii hopes to see significant economic gains result from its new school; the technology developed at SOEST will have applications in energy production, ocean mining, agriculture, and many other fields.

Report on the Photovoltaic R&D Program in Hawaii

Photovoltaic systems provide one of the best options to generate energy in Hawaii, a state that is more than 90 percent dependent on imported oil for its energy supply. Hawaii's excellent year-round insolation rates will contribute to the success of solar energy projects. The Hawaii Natural Energy Institute's program to accelerate utilization of PV power in Hawaii has thus far consisted of a continuation of a 50-year data base of solar insolation; an experimental program with grid-connected residential PV systems; and public information dissemination on PV technology and performance. HNEI is now developing a program that includes: (1) compiling a solar data base that includes a full solar resource assessment, with spectral analysis and measurement of direct insolation, (2) tests of various PV devices relative to insolation; (3) test and evaluation of contemporary PV powered systems (e.g. water pumping, refrigeration, communication and stand-alone residential applications) under various tropical island conditions; and (4) a technology transfer effort aimed at Hawaii and other Pacific Basin islands, including cost-benefit and market analyses.

Wind Applications in Pacific: ABSTRACT

Hawaii shares with many other isolated areas and island communities of the Pacific a near-total dependence for energy on imported oil--a supply source which during the past decade has become increasingly expensive and less secure. Hawaii also shares with many of these areas which are deficient in conventional energy supplies, a variety of renewable energy resources which can serve as substitutes, or alternatives to seaborne petroleum. A case study showing what has been accomplished in Hawaii in moving one of these resources--wind energy--closer to commercialization is based on the limited amount of known information on the potential of wind energy in the Pacific region and studies which are underway to expand the knowledge on the extent of the wind resource throughout thi region. The Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) and the Department of Meteorology of the University of Hawaii have developed over the past 6 years an inventory of the wind resource in Hawaii. This effort involved an extensive system of 18 long-term wind data stations located on the five major islands, supplemented by a series of mobile, short-term stations and a loan program of wind measurement devices for specific site measurements. The Hawaii Wind Data Bank provides information both to wind researchers and to those who are seeking optimum sites for installing wind energy conversion systems (WECS). HNEI also is engaged in a WECS reliability verification program and is conducting research on various wind energy applications, including storage and nitrogen generation. End_of_Article - Last_Page 983------------