2012 ASIA PACIFIC CLEAN ENERGY SUMMIT AND EXPO HIGHLIGHTS SUCCESS OF HAWAII’S CLEAN ENERGY PROGRAMS

For Immediate Release: August 24, 2012

HONOLULU — Showcasing the State of Hawaii’s abilities as a model for innovative clean energy test beds, the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s (DBEDT) State Energy Office successfully wrapped up its 2012 Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo (APCESE) last week in Waikiki.

Approximately 780 attendees representing 19 countries, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, China and Australia, packed the Hawaii Convention Center for the three-day conference, which included informative panel discussions, an interactive expo and networking opportunities.

“We strived to focus the Summit on providing Hawaii-based clean energy projects with business and economic development opportunities by linking them with global partners and investors,” said Richard Lim, Director of DBEDT.

“This year’s Summit was tremendously successful in bringing together all the stakeholders in clean energy, not only in the State of Hawaiʻi, but also internationally,” said George Kailiwai III, Director, Resources and Assessments (J8), United States Pacific Command. “I particularly found the Defense Energy Technology Challenge presentations useful in identifying new, refreshing, innovative and promising solutions.”

“We accomplished our mission to showcase Hawaii as the ideal location for clean energy test bed projects by sharing our successes and challenges with others,” said Mark Glick, Energy Administrator of DBEDT, co-organizer of the event. “These projects will help Hawaii achieve our 70 percent clean energy goal by the year 2030.”

On August 13, APCESE kicked off with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the State of Hawaii and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) signifying the start of a clean energy investment and deployment program in Hawaii. Interested Hawaii clean energy companies can begin the matchmaking process with Chinese investors and developers by filling out the Hawaii State Energy Office’s online form at energy.hawaii.gov/developer-investor.

APCESE also highlighted the State’s partnership with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan on a $37 million smart grid demonstration project on Maui that will position Hawaii as an international clean energy leader. The project is scheduled to begin the installation of an EV (electric vehicle) charging control system later this year and become operational in Fall 2013.

The 5th Annual Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo is tentatively scheduled for September 9-11, 2013, at the Hawaii Convention Center.

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For more information, contact:

Mark Glick
State Program Administrator
DBEDT’s State Energy Office
Phone: (808) 587-3812

Noreen Kam
Energy Analyst/Communications
DBEDT’s State Energy Office
Phone: (808) 587- 9006

CHINA-HAWAII CLEAN ENERGY COLLABORATION TO SET FRAMEWORK FOR ENERGY INVESTMENT

For Immediate Release: August 13, 2012

HONOLULU — Governor Neil Abercrombie and Secretary General Xu Hubin of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signifying the partnership to start a clean energy investment and deployment program in Hawaii. The program will allow CCPIT to refer interested Chinese clean energy investors and developers to the Hawaii State Energy Office in the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) to facilitate the matchmaking process with clean energy project partners in Hawaii in need of capital or development partners.

This definitive MOU follows the Letter of Intent (LOI) signed by Governor Abercrombie and Mr. Yu Ping, Vice Chairman of CCPIT, last November at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Hawaii-China CEO Forum, “Transforming to Clean Energy.” The letter stated, “there was invoked a spirit of collaboration between China and Hawaii on clean energy development efforts, as passionately presented by esteemed panelists from Hawaii and China.”

“That spirit of collaboration initiated during APEC continues today with a common goal,” stated Governor Abercrombie. “Hawaii’s expansive mix of renewable energy resources, coupled with our aggressive approach to achieve energy sufficiency, is attracting these kinds of global partnerships for clean energy research, development and deployment.”

Today’s signing ceremony took place at the 4th Annual Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo at the Hawaii Convention Center. This international summit is being attended by local, national and international participants, including government, private-sector and energy industry leaders and officials from 20 countries.

“Hawaii’s clean energy sector has catapulted over other states when it comes to the development of its clean energy industry,” said Richard Lim, director of DBEDT. “The MOU that sets our program with CCPIT will create an efficient process for foreign investors and developers to partner with clean energy companies here is Hawaii leading to the economic growth of our State.”

Founded in 1952, CCPIT is the official trade organization for Chinese state-owned companies and has 16 Commercial Promotion offices outside China.

The Hawaii State Energy Office has created an online form at energy.hawaii.gov/developer-investor where interested clean energy companies in Hawaii can register to begin the matchmaking process with Chinese investors and developers.

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For more information contact:

Donalyn Dela Cruz
Deputy Director of Communications
(808) 586-0012
https://hawaii.gov/gov

STATE ENERGY OFFICE OFFERS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE EVALUATIONS FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS

For Immediate Release: August 6, 2012

HONOLULU — The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s (DBEDT) State Energy Office is now offering commercial facilities the opportunity to evaluate their existing buildings for energy and resource efficiency. This program will provide eligible building owners and facility managers with the technical assistance needed for evaluating their existing buildings using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Existing Building: Operations and Maintenance (EB: O&M) scorecard.

Interested parties must submit an application to participate in this program. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis; and all applications will be evaluated to determine eligibility.

At the conclusion of the program, participants will receive a LEED EB: O&M scorecard and summary notes indicating their potential to achieve credits under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED EB: O&M program.

Applicants most likely to qualify possess the following characteristics:
1. Facility recently earned the ENERGY STAR award/certification.
2. Air conditioning system has been upgraded in the past seven years.
3. Lighting system has been upgraded in the past seven years.
4. Water heating system has been upgraded in the past five years.
5. For hotels, guestrooms have been renovated in the past five years.
6. Lobby has been renovated in the past five years.
7. All energy sources (electricity, gas, diesel, etc.) to the facility are metered.

The LEED and ENERGY STAR Building programs support the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, which sets a 70 percent clean energy goal by the year 2030: 30 percent from energy efficiency and 40 percent from renewable energy. Energy efficiency is one of the most cost-effective approaches for a facility to reduce its energy costs as well as its carbon footprint. There are four buildings in the State of Hawaii that are LEED EB: O&M-certified, out of more than 50 LEED-certified and more than 60 ENERGY STAR buildings statewide.

Property owners and managers interested in applying for the LEED EB: O&M evaluation assistance may contact Gail Suzuki-Jones at [email protected] or (808) 587-3802. Applications must be received by the State Energy Office by August 20, 2012. This program is being offered for a limited time due to funding limitations.

For more information on the USGBC and Green Building Certification Institute’s LEED programs, visit the website at www.usgbc.org and www.gbci.org.

The LEED Existing Building: Operations and Maintenance Program
LEED EB: O&M tracks operations and maintenance performance. LEED EB: O&M provides building owners and operators a green building rating system to capture the sustainable operations and reduce the building’s environmental impact over its lifetime. This program is an on-going process which, after initial evaluation, and a scorecard with notes, requires further follow-up and registration and certification as well as, updates on any changes in performance data. There are four levels of certification — Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum — depending on the number of points the project accrues.

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For more information, contact:

Mark Glick
State Program Administrator
DBEDT’s State Energy Office
Phone: (808) 587-3812

Kathy Yim
Renewable Energy Project Assistant
DBEDT’s State Energy Office
Phone: (808) 587- 9003

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