Hawaii is known for sun, surf and the “aloha” spirit — and in the energy world, as a progressive place that has set landmark goals of 100 percent renewable energy for the state and other clean transportation goals for its counties.
In the era of climate change, the success of clean energy will depend on whether the grid architecture is resilient.
As an island state, Hawaii knows all too well the destructive force of our planet, based on past experiences with Hurricanes Iwa (1982) and Iniki (1992) that affected multiple islands.
Just this year alone, our state has endured a string of bad weather conditions — from heavy rain-induced flooding on Kauai and Oahu in April, to back-to-back major storms in August (Hurricane Lane) and September (Tropical Storm Olivia).