The Hawaii Natural Energy Institute was established in 1974, a few months after an oil embargo by the OPEC oil cartel triggered economic and political chaos in the United States and the rest of the industrialized world. Countries that depended on imported petroleum were suddenly hostage to the oil producers, and weakened economically by the inflation caused by the rise in oil prices.

In the midst of the oil embargo, the 1974 Legislature quickly acted to create a structure within the state government which would oversee Hawaii's attempts to wean itself from imported oil. It consisted of three parts:

• the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute of the University of Hawaii;
   
• the State Program for Energy Planning and Conservation, eventually to become the Energy Resources and Technology Division of the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, to oversee planning and conservation; and
   
• the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii to serve as a field laboratory for energy research and development.

HNEI

The measure establishing HNEI was signed into law by Governor George R. Ariyoshi on June 14, 1974, as Act 235. The goals set forth by the Legislature, looking from a perspective 25 years later, were far-sighted:

The current energy crisis is caused by a global energy shortage which will worsen through the remainder of this decade and may continue to the end of this century. The state of Hawaii, with its total dependence for energy on imported fossil fuel, is particularly vulnerable to dislocations in the global energy market. This is an anomalous situation, as there are few places in the world so generously endowed with natural energy: geothermal, solar radiation, ocean temperature differential, wind, waves, currents—all potential non-polluting power sources. The purpose of this act is to establish the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute that will coordinate and undertake the development of non-polluting natural energy sources for Hawaii .... [The institute] will provide the needed visibility, focus, and encouragement for energy-related activities directed toward converting Hawaii's natural resources into viable energy systems. These alternative energy systems will:

(1) diminish Hawaii's total dependence on imported fossil fuels;
(2) meet the state's increasing energy demands with little or no environmental degradation; and
(3) contribute to the technology base for finding solutions to the national and global energy shortage.

The Early Years

While research on alternative forms of energy was not new to Hawaii, the oil embargo served as a catalyst for the expansion of this field. UH researchers had conducted isolated studies of geothermal, ocean, and biomass energy during the 1960s and 1970s, based in part on the interests of the individual researchers, as well as on an underlying belief in the wisdom of replacing finite fossil fuels with other renewable resources. The creation of HNEI gave new direction to their work.

Planning

HNEI began its work in mid-1974 under the leadership of John Shupe, who also served as dean of the UH College of Engineering. One of HNEI's first tasks was supporting the Governor's Committee on Alternate Energy Resources, which had been charged with assessing energy resources and making recommendations on the research and funding required for their development.

The committee considered solid waste, biomass, hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, solar, ocean thermal, wave, coal, and nuclear. Wind, geothermal, and ocean thermal came with the highest recommendations for state research and development support, followed by biomass, hydroelectric, and solar. With the exception of nuclear power, which was not recommended by the group, all of these alternatives, even coal, eventually came to be used in Hawaii, with varying degrees of success.

The committee's recommendations were submitted to the 1975 Legislature, which responded by providing $1.9 million for the fiscal biennium for energy research and development. Much of the push for this legislation came from Senator T.C. Yim, then chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

HNEI's Missions

Hawaii's energy planning led to two roles for HNEI. The first was resource assessment and monitoring to determine which resources could best meet the state's energy goals. The second was the coordination of research and development among those pursuing similar goals.

In the years that immediately followed, HNEI served in that coordinating capacity, providing seed funding to UH researchers and others for various projects. The bulk of the funding came from the U.S. Department of Energy and Hawaii state government, and reflected the then-national priority of generating electricity from indigenous sources, such as solar, geothermal, wind, ocean thermal, and biomass. The early accomplishments of the institute reflected that goal.

Beginning in the mid-1970s, and even continuing through the 1990s, HNEI spearheaded the Hawaii Geothermal Project, a university-wide effort to explore and utilize this resource. HNEI joined the UH Department of Meteorology to coordinate wind surveys of the Hawaiian archipelago and develop the base data for the subsequent location of wind turbines. The institute also established the Kahua Wind Energy Storage Test Facility to conduct wind storage and energy research. Surveys of solar insolation were conducted under the institute's direction, while researchers field-tested solar devices and systems for their dependability in generating electricity.

Agricultural experts and researchers evaluated the best species of crops, growing and harvesting techniques, and cultivation sites statewide as the basis for a biomass energy industry. Work was also conducted on biomass-derived alcohol fuels for transportation applications. HNEI launched ocean thermal energy conversion development projects, including studies on the components of these systems and the effects of marine corrosion.

Researchers in the materials program tested the use of thin films for application in the photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen, new alloys that could withstand the corrosive marine environment, and other materials for energy and ocean-related applications.

Changing Priorities

By the time of the institute's tenth anniversary in 1984, much of its research was being applied, or near application, in the commercial production of electricity: The geothermal pilot plant in Puna had proven the commercial potential of geothermal power, wind farms were operating throughout the islands, Hawaii had the highest per capita usage of solar water-heating systems in the nation, and biomass plantations were being established.

HNEI refined its research focus to initiate efforts in biofuels, ocean resources, materials applications, and various interdisciplinary programs, while continuing its emphasis on energy-related research and development, particularly hydrogen.

HNEI pioneered the resurgence of research on hydrogen from renewable resources. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the program is developing technologies for the production and storage of this promising "fuel of the future." The program, which has become HNEI's largest, has consistently rated at the top among comparable efforts nationwide.

HNEI has also continued its biomass research, primarily in the gasification of biomass into fuels, chemicals, and other products.

The institute's umbrella Center for Ocean Resource Technology was the home for the Marine Minerals Technology Center, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s national center for seabed minerals research, until mid-1999 when federal support ended. The MMTC was charged with identifying the locations of seabed mineral deposits and developing tools and techniques to extract the valuable ores from the ocean floor. That information awaits a resumption of federal interest in seabed exploration. However, newly formed international partnerships are being formed to explore the potential of methane hydrates, ice-encrusted concentrations of methane found on the deep ocean floor.

HNEI also continues to conduct other marine-related research and development, including the sequestration of greenhouse gases in the deep sea, open-ocean fish farming, floating platforms, artificial upwelling of deep ocean water, and other offshoots of its early OTEC work. The greenhouse gas work has attracted federal and international interest and funding support, while HNEI researchers are cementing relationships with counterparts in Japan and elsewhere on floating platform development.

Coordinating Resources

• The Hawaii Natural Energy Institute's initial mandate was as a coordinator of research, and it has preserved that role throughout its history. HNEI has worked closely in coordinating research and development interests and played an important catalytic role in bridging university research with many organizations:
   
• Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism on activities ranging from studies on the social costs of energy use to the development of renewable energy field laboratories;
   
• national laboratories, such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Brookhaven, Sandia, and Argonne National Laboratories on joint research projects;
   
• University of Hawaii's Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development and the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research on transferring university-based research discoveries to the private sector;
   
• industry partners, such as Hawaiian Electric and other sponsors in specific fields; and
   
• various institutions and organizations from throughout the world, such as the University of Tokyo’s Agriculture and Technology Institute and the energy agencies of Thailand, the Philippines, Korea, and the People’s Republic of China.

HNEI's research has involved faculty representing many UH colleges and departments, researchers from numerous U.S. and foreign universities, and post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students from the University of Hawaii and other major schools. These alliances and partnerships have enabled HNEI to benefit from innovative research being conducted elsewhere and apply this knowledge to Hawaii's efforts, while allowing others to learn from the institute's work.

HNEI in the New Millennium

It would be difficult to guess where the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute will be on its 50th anniversary or beyond. Despite the changes that time will certainly bring, those who have been associated with the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute over its history have proved to be remarkably prescient in gauging the nation's future energy resource needs, setting realistic goals, and taking the steps to achieve them. HNEI has an impressive record of achievement in fulfilling its original mandate.

The institute's current initiatives will be joined or superceded by new ones in the coming years as the world changes and brings new challenges. The Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, with a solid foundation of ideas, creativity, and expertise established and nurtured over more than a quarter-century, stands ready to meet those challenges.