Sunetric came across handmade, high quality infant & toddler apparel with a SOLAR THEME that we couldn’t resist purchasing for our employees with little ones! Baby Bean’s signature cropped icons, hand stitched details & fun fabrics were a hit with our employees! Take a look at how cute our solar toddlers are! Thanks Baby Bean for making such fun solar shirts for the youngest members in our Sunetric family!

Head on over to the Sunetric Facebook page and leave a comment on our Solar Babies photo album (or on any of its photos) to enter our Baby Bean Solar Babies T-shirt Giveaway! We’ll announce a winner next week.

On top of that, all Sunetric Facebook fans and visitors can enjoy 10% off all All Things Bean products – just use the coupon code SOLARBABIES at your checkout at All Things Bean.

Sunetric CEO Alex Tiller is honored to have been asked to attend two separate APEC events this week.

We received a special invitation from Governor Neil Abercrombie, Speaker Calvin Say, and the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, to attend a luncheon reception and business forum at the Washington Palace for 150–200 CEOs from some of China’s largest corporations here for the APEC CEO conference.

In addition, Alex has been invited to the APEC Hong Kong Reception event at the Prince Edward Ballroom of the Hilton Waikiki.

Though our business is local, our mission is global – clean, affordable energy using the enormous resource we have in solar. It is a privilege to be invited to meet and speak with the many international delegates of APEC, and CEO Alex Tiller and all of Sunetric are grateful for the opportunity.

Sunetric CEO Alex Tiller and Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie meeting for APEC.

Every month, Sunetric introduces you to a member of the Sunetric family. The Sunetric commitment to top-notch service is a value shared by every member of our company, and each of our employees has something special to offer our customers and all of Hawaii. As a full-service solar integrator, our expertise spans every part of the consultation, design, and installation process.

Meet Victor Danley, Service Department Technician

As our Service Department Technician, Victor spends each day servicing past and current customers’ systems — it’s his job to make sure our customers’ systems are operating at optimum level. For Victor, each system’s service needs are unique — maintenance can include tightening wires, cleaning modules, testing voltages, and troubleshooting system monitoring.

After servicing the PV installation, I always answer any and all homeowner questions and offer a complimentary walkthrough of their system, explaining each component of the system and how it functions.   Victor started with Sunetric as our Lead Roof Installer, then transitioned into working with our electrical team. With his expertise in roof installations as well as the electrical components of the system, he was promoted to Service Department Technician in July.

Victor and Sunetric

Born and raised on Kauai, Victor noticed Sunetric installing a PV system on a home a few houses away from his. “I started talking with the foreman and when the opportunity to join the installation team was presented to me,” he says, “I gladly accepted.”

I take pride in have helping homeowners to go solar, and I’m particularly proud to have helped to train some of our lead installers. I shared everything I know with the installers that I trained, and they’ve turned out to be super, so it feels good to have helped train some of our best installers.

Victor loves the outdoors, surfing and fishing in his spare time. He’s also got a baby boy on the way — “I enjoy staying home to care of ‘mommy’, Samantha,” he says.  

The best part of working at Sunetric is the positive attitudes that the people I work with have. Everyone is always in a good spirits. I’m also proud to be working for the best solar company in Hawaii.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) announced today the results of the 2011 SCHOTT Solar Barometer (a national annual survey by the Kelton Research polling firm) demonstrate that “Americans overwhelmingly support the use and development of solar energy as well as federal investments for solar.”

For the fourth consecutive year, the survey found that about nine out of 10 Americans (89 percent) think it is important for the United States to develop and use solar energy. Support for solar is strong across the political spectrum with 80 percent of Republicans, 90 percent of Independents and 94 percent of Democrats agreeing that it is important for the United States to develop and use solar.

The survey also found that Americans want federal incentives for solar. More than eight out of 10 Americans (82 percent) support federal tax credits and grants for the solar industry similar to those that traditional sources of energy like oil, natural gas and coal have received for decades. Seventy-one percent of Republicans agree, as well as 82 percent of Independents and 87 percent of Democrats.

Furthermore, when asked to select an energy source they would financially support if they were in charge of U.S. energy policy, 39 percent of Americans chose solar over other sources such as natural gas (21 percent), wind (12 percent), nuclear (9 percent) and coal (3 percent). Among Independents, solar is more than twice as popular as any other energy source (43 percent for solar compared to 20 percent for natural gas).

Read the press release and see the details of the survey.

This is great news — in spite of endless coverage of the Solyndra bankruptcy, the results of the poll show that Americans strongly support solar and want their government to support it as well.

Eight out of 10 (82 percent) think it is important for the federal government to support U.S. solar manufacturing, and a majority of Independent voters (51 percent) think it is ‘extremely important.’"

We at Sunetric know the power of solar and the importance of its support nationally from both our government and our citizens. We will continue in our tireless mission to bring solar to the people of Hawaii and urge our representatives to help us in the fight for cleaner, cheaper power.

The solar industry has boomed over the last few years, with the demand for clean energy fueled by government-sponsored financial incentives in several countries. Solar panels and power systems have been installed in many homes and businesses as a result. Companies around the world have installed solar systems for free, and the excess power has been sold to the grid. Many solar panel owners have actually profited from their installations. Government feed-in tariff programs in many countries have sparked a surge in demand, and businesses have sprouted up overnight to become lucrative enterprises. However, many countries have cut these incentives just as demand was reaching the highest levels seen yet. Since July, some solar businesses, which were thriving at the time, are now struggling to stay afloat. Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and even Ontario, Canada are facing similar dilemmas.

Australia cut its incentive program in August. This has hurt many thriving businesses, including a solar panel company run by Joe Darby, whose business reached a growth rate of 20% each year. Not only have ties with subcontractors been cut and jobs lost, but Darby’s business may completely go under and he may lose his house. A national survey said that the majority of the country’s solar energy firms have laid off workers or plan to. Renewablelogic, a solar company based out of Perth, reported that business between August and October declined by 90%. Half of the company’s workers have been laid off, while it may have to drop 25% more of its staff soon.

While proponents of the cuts suggest government rebates for solar panels still exist, and the investment is still a wise decision, a similar pattern is being seen in other countries. In the UK, the government is planning, as of October 2011, to cut the feed-in tariff rates in half. Experts say as many as 25,000 solar jobs may be lost. The cost of solar technology has decreased, according to UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, and that his department was looking for “appropriate levels of subsidies.” Solarcentury founder Jeremy Leggett said that the act is a “Spectacle of a government destroying jobs it had only just created to save next to nothing.”

As a result of threatening cuts, some installation companies are seeing a rise in orders as consumers seek to get what they can. This threatens the Parliament’s budget for the year in regards to solar energy, while a similar pattern could emerge in Germany which plans to cut the feed-in-tariff program in January 2012. Analyst Martin Simonek of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, in London, suggested that there could be a surge in German installations toward the end of the year. Shipments to Germany by a Yingli Green Energy Holding Co., in China, have increased, while other manufacturers of solar panel components were caught off guard when demand dropped. They had previously increased capacity to keep up with the demand, but government actions in many countries have had unpredictable results that have hurt most businesses.

Government action on a multi-national scale has seemingly reversed the optimal environment for business growth. The economic situation for many industries is dire, but solar system manufacturers and installers were experiencing a boom. Some think politicians were frightened by the fast pace in growth, but whatever the reason, the actions have changed the lives of business owners and dedicated workers who had reason for optimism.

---

Sources

• The Sydney Morning Herald: Solar businesses collapsing two months after feed-in tariff cut

• The Guardian: Consumers urged to install solar panels before subsidies cut

• Bloomberg Businessweek: Germany Plans Solar-Subsidies Cut, May See Installation Rush

Questions abound in the wake of the collapse of Solyndra, the California solar-panel maker that recently declared bankruptcy after securing approximately $0.5 Billion worth of loan guarantees from the Obama administration. Though we are not qualified or interested in making political statements one way or another, it is important that we clarify any confusion as to the broader impact of this situation and how it might relate to our customers and the solar power industry in Hawaii.

First, is important to note that this one questionable investment by the Department of Energy is not indicative of their energy investment portfolio in general. In fact, the reality is that the Energy Department’s loan-guarantee program, enacted in 2005 with bipartisan support, has backed nearly $38 billion in loans for 40 projects around the country – Solyndra represents just 1.3 percent of that portfolio — and, as of today, Solyndra is the only loan that has soured (Bill O’Leary – The Washington Post). Other solar beneficiaries, such as SunPower and First Solar, are still going strong and the Department continues to support new energy technology on many fronts.

This brings up a second point that strikes a little closer to home – there has been some reporting that SunPower might share a similar fate to Solyndra. As with much of the noise in a political season, this storyline seems to be more based in hyperbole than fact – but as Hawaii’s first SunPower Elite dealer and as a company that has worked closely and successfully with SunPower for years, we feel it is important to address these reports.

Media Matters, a non-profit, non-partisian research group, does a very thorough job of investigating the situation and addresses the merit of many of the different claims being made. If you’re interested, we definitely recommend reading their post in its entirity at MediaMatters.com, but if you’d like the quick synopsis, here it is:

• Fox News claims that SunPower is a ‘Failing Company’ - Many of Fox’s commentators, including Steve Doocy, Bill O’Reilly, and Elizabeth McDonald have made statements over the last few days implying that SunPower could go out of business. This is contrary to what experts at the NY Times, GTM Research, Baird, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The Washington Post have all reported recently – repeatedly stating that SunPower is not only a positive example of successful energy technology investment, but is also very well positioned for future success.
• Fox News commentators state that SunPower is using the loan guarantee provided by the US Government to create jobs in Mexico, not the US - Though many of the same commentators have stated that SunPower is exporting new jobs bolstered by the Energy Department loan guarantee, the truth is that SunPower is headquartered in San Jose, California and has approximately 1,100 employees in 4 states and of its 26 parts suppliers, 22 are U.S.-based. Additionally, the loan guarantee is estimated to create 350 construction jobs in California as SunPower builds the largest utility-scale PV project in the country – the 250-MW California Valley Solar Ranch. Not only will the project create construction jobs, but it stands to create 15 permanent jobs and create $315 million in economic benefit to California, as well as powering approximately 100,000 homes contributing vital renewable energy as the state aims to achieve its Renewable Portfolio Standard.

In the end, though Solyndra was a very sad story on many fronts, the solar industry in general, and SunPower specifically, are all positive narratives still being written – and all signs point to that they’ll have sunny endings.

We may have all heard the benefits of CFL’s before, but not everyone is switching their lights over. Next time one of your traditional incandescent bulbs burns out, swap it out for a CFL – Hollywood’s leading ladies are doing it, shouldn’t you?

Switching just one bulb can make a difference – According to EnergyStar.gov, if every American home replaced just one light bulb with a light bulb that’s earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light 3 million homes for a year, save about $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to those from about 800,000 cars

A segment aired on Hawaii News Now that has raised some questions regarding renewable tax incentives. In order to clarify any confusion that may exist, we’d like to highlight the facts and connect consumers with the information necessary to make an informed judgement regarding this issue.

Federal and State governments have supported solar because of the collateral benefits the technology provides. State and federal incentives reduce the cost of systems, increase adoption, spur investment in manufacturing and ultimately lower hardware prices. Incentives create viable adjacent businesses providing jobs and increased sales tax revenue. In Hawaii’s case, a vibrant alternative energy industry also helps to reduce the state’s potentially crippling dependence on imported oil as its primary energy source.

For 35 years, the government of Hawaii has been one of the most progressive in the country in its support of solar. With inspired leadership by the current and past governors, the state continues to set the standard in sustainable, environmentally-conscious legislation.

The state of Hawaii Tax Department updates its tax guidance regarding renewable tax incentives often, in fact, they have reiterated their position twice in the past year and a half (in May 2010 and again in September of this year). In both cases, the tax department clearly communicates that solar integrators and their customers should continue to operate as they have in the past, installing the most efficient and economical systems for each customer’s unique circumstances. The Tax Department is clear in their interpretation of proper ‘use’ of the existing tax incentives – and have been consistent in honoring multiple $5000 tax credits on a single property for a wide variety of technical reasons. To be clear, there are certain circumstances when multiple systems are permitted according to the Department of Tax, and if you have any questions concerning your system, you should feel free to call Sunetric for clarification.

The clarity gained in the these Tax Information Releases is another positive, progressive step towards a sustainable future for Hawaii. The insights and efforts necessary to reach this result, from both the Hawaii solar industry and the Department of Taxation, should be applauded.

Please feel free to contact Sunetric with any questions or for further clarification on this subject.

Download the most recent TIR (September 2011)

In July, HECO raised rates by 2.2%, another in a long line of electricity cost increases. We wrote about it in May, too.

SImply put, rising electric rates mean that solar makes more and more sense every day – not just because it can be cheaper than what you’re already paying for electricity, but because you’re guarding yourself against the inevitable price increases of the future.

Electric Rates

The graph below charts the average yearly electric rate from the last twenty years.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA–861, “Annual Electric Power Industry Report.”

From this data we can extrapolate how electric rates will continue to rise:

1. We can expect an 6% increase annually in electric rates.
2. HECO bills that are currently currently $160 per month can be projected to be:
   • $300 per month in 2020.
   • $600 per month in 2030.
   • $1,200 per month in 2040.

(The large drop you in 2008 was due to the combination of reactions to the global financial crisis and recession that made global oil demand go down about 4%, rather than the typical increase of 1–2% per year.)

The smartest way to protect yourself from this upward trend (and the unexpected spikes) is by going solar. Try our solar calculator today and see how much you’ll save by weighing your solar options. It only takes a few minutes.

Average Monthly Electrical Bill

Green jobs are being created at record rates, which is great news for a struggling economy with 14 million unemployed.

A July report published by the Brookings Institution in conjunction with Battelle entitled Sizing the Green Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment (read the PDF) looked into the ‘clean economy’ growth over the last seven years, and their findings are worth talking about.

Green Economy Growth

The Brookings report shows a 3.4% growth in the clean energy economy, compared to 4.2% in the national economy from 2003 to 2010. That relatively slow growth has some important data to consider behind it; the Society for Human Resource Management, reviewing the report, pointed out:

But underlying this data is a tale of two segments: Older construction-based companies in the clean economy experienced a high incidence of layoffs during that time, while newer “clean tech” segments, such as those in renewable energy, had substantially greater job creation than “nonclean” peers.

Of the clean Solar thermal expanded over 18.4% annually from 2003–2010. Wind power saw 14.9% and solar photovoltaic saw 10.7% expansion over the same period. Notable growth by any measure, illustrated in this figure provided by the Center for American Progress:

There are now more people in the clean economy sector than in the fossil fuels (2.4 million) and biosciences (1.4 million) sectors. Clean economy jobs represent 2 percent of all positions nationwide.
— SHRM

Cleaner Energy, More Jobs

• Nearly 63,000 jobs were created in the clean energy sector in California between 1995 and 2009, according to a January 2011 report by Next 10.
• The average clean energy job wage is 13% higher than the national average.
• As more and more buildings bring their facilities into the green era and focus on the energy efficiency, the clean energy jobs responsible for those improvements (such as consultants and installers) will see a lot of growth, says an October 2009 report from the Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Initiative.
• The US Department of Energy has put out upwards of $1 billion for research and development of solar energy since 2001.
• The US Department of Labor has given more than $500 million in grants for green jobs training since 2009.
• Just announced and set for construction in the Florida Panhandle, the Southeast’s largest solar farm will create 400 construction jobs over 5 years and up to 120 employees, according to Progress Energy Florida.
• This graph from the Center for American Progress breaks down the job distribution in the aforementioned 2003–2010 green economy sector growth.
• The Center for American Progress also reports that: ‘Three separate programs for energy efficiency retrofits employed almost 25,000 Americans in three months since earlier this year. The Weatherization Assistance Program, Energy Efficiency Block Grant Program, and State Energy Programs collectively upgraded over half a million buildings since they began to ramp up earlier this year. These programs mainly hired construction workers, a key point during a time of particularly heavy unemployment in the construction sector.’

Investment is Needed to Further Growth

While recent controversial investments in the solar market have caused concern for some, the overall trend in the alternative energy economy and the jobs it stands to create is consistently improving and very exciting. It is vital that we all support investments in our clean energy future and the American workers who will make it happen.

Kirby and Elizabeth

Last week we were amazed and honored to find a thank-you note from Kirby and Elizabeth, two Sunetric customers, on our Facebook page. You can read the whole thing there, but here’s an excerpt:

Solar is the only way to go. … I don’t have to worry about maintenance or anything else. I can’t believe the difference in my electric bill. … With the electric company rates continuously on the rise, I don’t understand why Sunetric’s doors aren’t being broken down with a rush of people who want to go solar.

The installation team was fantastic. They installed the system like the true professionals that they are. Everything was installed in less than one day and the appearance of the system is fantastic. It is actually hard to tell that I have solar panels on the roof when looking at the house from the street, as the installation looks so good that it truly appears as if it is an original part of the home.

We pride ourselves on our expert installations, taking as much care as possible to make your system a part of your home without messy and destructive alterations.

More Happy Customers

Be sure to read up on our Residential Case Studies — we’ve got four families (and counting!) sharing their experiences from start to savings. See how Scott and Morgan are saving $300 a month.

Are You a Satisfied Sunetric Customer?

We’d love to add you to our team of Solar Ambassadors! We are proud to have served each of our nearly 2500 customers and we want to share their stories with the world. So we’re reaching out to everyone and offering the chance to join the Sunetric Solar Ambassador program, and get paid for it! It’s easy — tell us a little about yourself and your installation, and if you are chosen as a Solar Ambassador, we’ll give you a $100 gift certificate to your favorite restaurant! Find out more:

Click here to apply to become a solar ambassador

Every month, Sunetric introduces you to a member of the Sunetric family. The Sunetric commitment to top-notch service is a value shared by every member of our company, and each of our employees has something special to offer our customers and all of Hawaii. As a full-service solar integrator, our expertise spans every part of the consultation, design, and installation process.

Meet Rachael Pericas, Residential Project Manager

Rachael is in charge of managing the residential operations department here at Sunetric — she supervises and administers all of Sunetric’s residential jobs from start to finish.

My top priorities are maintaining our customer’s satisfaction throughout the entire installation process as well as making sure installations are completed on time. I interact with customers, our residential crews, subcontractors, our internal operations team, and our sales force every day. Another very important part of my job is managing Sunetric’s installation schedules — on a typical day I oversee schedules for 8 installations a day and up to 40 installations a week.

As you can probably tell, Rachael keeps busy!

Rachael’s Story

Born in California and raised in Colorado Springs, CO., Rachael attended the University of Colorado Boulder for a year before moving to Oahu to attend the University of Hawaii. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science.

Rachael began working with us in 2008 as an administrative assistant, quickly being promoted to scheduling manager and then to project coordinator before becoming our residential project manager.

She’s taken an interest in studying CAD — computer-aided design, or how we design our solar installations — and is planning to go back to school for her master’s degree in the future.

Rachael at Sunetric

It was Rachael’s background in environmental science that brought her to Sunetric: “I wanted to get into the environmental field and work in a position that helps Hawaii become more environmentally friendly and green.”

Her work inside the company has also been a considerable boon to Sunetric:

I am really proud to have been part of creating a standardized work process for residential operations and to incorporate the company’s first ERP system into full operation within my department. I’m also proud that I was a part of a team — called Sunetric 2.0 — which analyzed Sunetric’s processes to make them more efficient and standardized and then led the company to make necessary changes.

Sunetric and Sun

When she’s not running a tight ship at Sunetric, Rachael loves going to the beach. “I love being in the water. I spend time with friends, play croquet, brew beer, hula hoop, and I love listening to music and traveling to see shows. I plan on traveling in the future. Early next year, I’m planning on traveling through South America and spending time in Brazil with my brother who is studying abroad.”

Both energy production and waste management practices have had adverse effects on the environment around the world. Nowhere else are these negative impacts felt than on an island, where space is limited and resources are in short supply. In Hawaii, recycling programs are as commonplace as policies mandating use of renewable energy sources – non-profit and government agencies promote them both statewide.

Waste in landfills emits methane gas, which can have a negative impact on the environment, adding to the problem of power plant emissions. Add in the rising expenses of energy and waste handling and an economic dilemma is the result. As a state where tourism is one of the main economic boosters, Hawaii can simply not afford to not be environmentally sustainable.

Renewable energy has been pitched in Hawaii for a while, and solar power and incentives to push its use have proliferated on the islands over the past few years. Both government-based and non-profit programs support widespread recycling of waste by both residents and tourists. On the Big Island, the County of Hawaii Department of Environmental Management governs the rules for recycling paper, glass, metal, and plastic, while other county-sponsored programs cover scrap metal, mulch, hazardous, waste, and electronics.

Also on the government level, the Office of Solid Waste Management (OSWM) must report to state legislature on waste reduction efforts. The OSWM is the administrating body to several programs designed to fund recycling efforts. An example is the Glass Advance Disposal Fee Program, in which fees from distributors of goods stored in glass containers are used to fund county recycling programs. Similar entities include the Deposit Beverage Container Program and the Motor Vehicle Tire Surcharge Program. It is a state priority to keep the environment in pristine shape, because that is why tourists keep coming back, and the economic value of tourism in Hawaii makes it vital to the state’s financial health.

Private businesses are perhaps the most visible when it comes to getting the word out on recycling. Oahu-based RRR Recycling processes paper products collected by its own recycling truck and vending machines. Reynolds Recycling has literally dozens of locations on four different islands to collect metal items, while Recycle Hawaii focuses on providing public education at no cost to raise awareness. Recycling education is taken very seriously on the islands. The Kokua Hawaii Foundation distributes recycling bins to schools on Oahu and provides training through its 3R’s Recycling Program, which also assists with pickup up plastic, paper, and bottles in schools. The company also sponsors in-class environmental education for students, focused on the message of what they can do to benefit the environment.

Non-profit and government agencies even work together, as is the case with the Maui Recycling Group. Responsible for the Maui Green Building Program, the group has worked with government agencies on the island to implement and promote the program and other initiatives like education and training. An OSWM report in 2010 indicated that all of these programs are working. The waste diversion rate in Hawaii, for the 2008 and 2009 fiscal year, was higher than both the national average and goals set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency. It is clear that Hawaiians are taking environmental conservation seriously. The state could be a model for recycling programs in other states and countries around the world as the population grows and non-renewable resources decline.

Being on an island means there tough choices when it comes to using and generating power. High energy prices have plagued Hawaii for years as the cost of oil from the Middle East have impacted the state’s economy. The most economically feasible approach is to produce energy somewhere locally. Any effort to do so, however, must take into account the preservation of our local environment – Hawaii’s natural resources are the foundation for the state’s massive tourist base, a significant asset to the state’s economy. Solar power has gained ground over the past few years, and geothermal energy has been explored for even longer. The pace is accelerating as new technologies come into play, and geothermal power promises to be a player in the efforts to create a sustainable power infrastructure in Hawaii.

Geothermal has been explored as an energy source in Hawaii since the 1880s. The leader of the Kingdom of Hawaii at the time, King David Kalakaua, consulted with Thomas Edison on using volcanoes to make power and transport it to different islands through underwater cables. It was not feasible at the time, but the idea has not faded, as private firms and government agencies continue to seek more sustainable ways to power Hawaii. There is currently one geothermal plant as of this writing, located on the island of Hawaii: the Puna Geothermal Venture facility. The Puna facility is able to generate 20% of the power on the Big Island.

The Puna power plant is actually located on the Kilauea Volcano. Underground wells have been drilled into the ground to bring up steam that drives turbines in the plant. Liquid is surfaced too, and plans are in the works to make use of this as well. For now, it is re-injected back into the ground along with condensed steam, so there are hardly any emissions at all into the air. Not only does the power plant avoid polluting the environment, but it has total efficiency in producing power from elements that are returned to their source.

While generating this power using the forces that created the islands, Hawaii Electric Light Company saves on the expense of purchasing 144,000 barrels of oil each year. While this is quite an impact and an extremely positive step on the path towards completely sustainable power, the rest of the Hawaiian island chain remains without a means to harness the geothermal energy generated by the Puna Geothermal Venture plant. Engineering plans for cables passing between islands under water have been in place since the 1980s, and the state considered a cable between Hawaii and Oahu, but government subsidies weren’t available to complete the project.

Several present-day developments are renewing the promise of geothermal energy. As of February 2011, the Puna Geothermal Venture has entered into an agreement with Hawaii Electric Light Company to expand its output. In June, the electric company began to actively seek information on the steps required to expand the geothermal energy capacity on the Big Island, and state lawmakers have even established a task force to stimulate new geothermal development on the island. The quest to make geothermal energy dominant in Hawaii is well underway, combined with the technological capability now in place to do what couldn’t be done in the 1800s. The prospects of geothermal generating plants and laying inter-island cables are a reality as Hawaii struggles to loosen the grips of power dependency.