|
Hawaii is exporting renewable energy.
Well, not as a physical commodity, but as a concept — and with measurable success.
Last month at the Hawaii Governor’s Mansion, nonprofit Blue Planet Alliance (BPA) signed agreements with three more island countries, pledging those jurisdictions to a 100% renewable-energy future.
Dominica, Grenada, and Vanuatu joined six other previously committed jurisdictions, bringing the total to nine island countries or territories that are rejecting fossil fuels as too expensive, too unhealthy for their populace, and too existentially threatening for entities subjected to extreme weather and rising sea levels.
The signings took place at the conclusion of BPA’s Fellowship Program, a productive, week-long workshop that offered guidance and support to 10 islands that expressed interest in following Hawaii’s lead (in 2015, Hawaii became the first U.S. state to legally require a transition to 100% renewable energy by 2045). The May class of 10 islands was the Fellowship’s second cohort, joining eight islands that matriculated in October, meaning 18 islands have now passed through the program.
Also emerging from the Fellowship program (which Brooklyn Story Lab helped produce) is the Blue Team, a new rapid-response support squad of experts from the legislative, regulatory, financial, technical, and academic sectors who will volunteer to assist any of these 18 islands navigate roadblocks on their journey to 100% renewable energy.
But the Fellowship was also a testimony to collaboration and human connection. If any of the delegates from the 10 participating islands entered with skepticism, being in the room together with the key stakeholders from Hawaii who led the Aloha State’s successful journey to a 100% renewable law changed attitudes quickly.
Stay tuned for more signings, as BPA targets 50 total islands in the next two years.
| 
