
Hawai‘i ADVANCED VISUALIZATION energy NEXUS (HAVEN)
HAVEN is a data visualization tool that assists planners, decision-makers, and other stakeholders to better understand the relationships, trade-offs, and impacts of policies, regulations, and other decisions made across the energy ecosystem.
Transportation represents about half of the energy consumed in Hawai‘i, with about 90 percent of that split between aviation and ground transportation. The prospective growth of electrification of transportation will greatly expand the electricity sector for the foreseeable future.
Hawai‘i ADVANCED VISUALIZATION energy NEXUS (HAVEN)
Originally developed through a U.S. Department of Energy competitive grant in coordination with the University of Hawai‘i’s LAVA Lab, HAVEN was designed to display utility resource planning data so users can easily visualize and compare the land use and geospatial impact of different plans. The project has evolved over the years to incorporate plans beyond the utility’s, such as the scenarios developed using the Engage energy modeling tool for the HSEO’s Decarbonization Study, as well as added contextual layers for hazards facing the state, such as wildfire and sea level rise. HAVEN has been used to help facilitate community engagement and education and has proven to be a powerful educational and outreach tool that prompts conversation as users absorb the information displayed. Interest in the technology from other states, communities, and schools has driven iterations focused on user experience and portability.
ENERGY PLANNING
Achieving a net-negative, clean energy economy requires extensive planning and analysis. Understanding the economic, environmental, and energy security impacts of different scenarios is essential for decision-makers. The Hawai‘i State Energy Office is continually developing and improving upon robust tools and data resources that are needed to help policymakers, government, and industry make make informed decisions.
Engage Energy Modeling Tool
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed the Engage™ modeling tool in collaboration with the Hawai‘i State Energy Office. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Transitions Initiative and Solar Energy Technologies Office funded the effort.
Engage™ makes cross-sectoral energy system planning and simulation easier and more accessible. Engage™ s a publicly available, free tool to model energy system scenarios to transition to a net-negative carbon economy. Its integrated visualization capabilities let users view the results of modeled scenarios to better understand the trade-offs and interdependencies involved in energy system transformations.
Engage™ is the core tool used to inform the HAVEN displays.
