{"id":99046,"date":"2019-06-27T16:20:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T02:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=99046"},"modified":"2019-06-28T15:44:51","modified_gmt":"2019-06-29T01:44:51","slug":"net-zero-maui-news-editorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2019\/06\/27\/net-zero-maui-news-editorial\/","title":{"rendered":"Net Zero project could be first in nation for college campus"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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UH<\/abbr> Maui Campus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This editorial by University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Maui College<\/a> Chancellor Lui K. Hokoana<\/strong> ran in The Maui News on June 23, 2019.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve driven in the last few months along Wahinepio Avenue—the street that runs between our campus and the Maui Arts and Cultural Center—we hope you\u2019ve noticed a lot of activity behind our ʻIke<\/span> Leʻa<\/span> (Science) Building.<\/p>\n

Construction began in February and now, our solar panel array is almost complete. There\u2019s still work to do, including testing to ensure we\u2019re in compliance with our agreement with Maui Electric Co. and the way our project will impact the island\u2019s grid. But after seven years of hard work on the part of many people from our college, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> System, multinational energy service company Johnson Controls, investor Pacific Current (a tier 1 subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Industries), various sub-contractors and other supporters, we\u2019re almost ready to, as Project Manager Lowen Okamoto likes to say, “press the button.”<\/p>\n

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Lui Hokoana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keep your fingers crossed with us. Because if all goes well, Okamoto adds that, “We\u2019re hoping that we can officially have this system up and online by the end of this year.” That will complete our Net Zero Electricity project ahead of the schedule we set for ourselves and more than 15 years ahead of the deadline set by Gov. David Ige for all 10 campuses of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> to achieve this goal. Perhaps most exciting is that UH<\/abbr> Maui College is on track to officially become the first college campus in the United States to achieve this extraordinarily important sustainability and environmental milestone.<\/p>\n