An Energy-Friendly Shift

The University of Hawaii announced that its Maui campus will be entirely solar powered. In doing so, the Maui Campus will be the first in the United States to run solely on solar energy. This is a big leap for Universities across the country, but it’s not a big surprise that it’s happening in Hawaii. Back in 2015, the state became the first in the U.S. to commit to achieving 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. This is simply a step in that direction.

According to digitaltrends.com, “Its Maui College campus is slated to become one of the first in the United States to derive 100 percent of its energy from on-site solar photovoltaic systems coupled with battery storage.”

They have partnered up with Pacific Current and Johnson Controls to seek reducing fossil fuel consumption across the island of O’ahu, including four other UH community college campuses. These four colleges will see their fossil fuel use decline by 70-98 percent across the board. UH Vice President for community colleges, John Morton, says, “these five UH campuses will have reduced fossil fuel energy consumption by ~14 GWh annually (45 percent) and added ~13 GWh renewable energy generation.”