The University of Hawai'i (UH) announced that its Maui College campus will soon be among the first in the nation to generate 100% of its energy from on-site solar photovoltaic (PV) systems coupled with battery storage. The project is part of a partnership with Johnson Controls and Pacific Current.
UH Maui College’s new PV plus storage system will be capable of eliminating the campus’ fossil fuel-based energy use when it is operational in 2019. On O‘ahu, through the combination of solar shade canopies, distributed energy storage and energy efficiency measures, Leeward Community College, Honolulu Community College, Kapi‘olani Community College and Windward Community College will reduce their use of fossil fuel for energy by 98 percent, 97 percent, 74 percent and 70 percent, respectively.
In 2015, Hawai‘i became the first state in the country to make an unprecedented commitment to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. Concurrently, UH and the Hawai‘i Legislature established a collective goal for the university system to be “net-zero” by January 1, 2035, meaning the system would produce as much renewable energy as it consumes across its campuses.
Read the full press release here.