UH Manoa enters into groundbreaking partnership with Hawaiian Electric Company

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Cindy Knapman, (808) 956-7410
UH Sea Grant College Program
Posted: Oct 19, 2006

Energy experts from the University of Hawaiʻi, University of California, Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) and the private sector will convene an energy summit at UH Manoa next week. The summit will include an announcement of details of a partnership with HECO aimed at monitoring and reducing energy consumption on the Manoa campus.

Chancellor Denise Konan called for the summit in an attempt to develop strategies to reduce UH Manoa‘s growing energy bill — projected to climb to $18.9 million dollars in the current fiscal year.

"We are focusing on campus renewal this year, and I expect our partnership with Hawaiian Electric will give us some momentum to make real progress in energy strategies and savings in the next year or two," Konan said. "Ultimately, we would like to transform the Manoa campus into an example for the state about what can be done in the area of energy efficiency and how best to accomplish that."

The University of Hawaiʻi is the second largest consumer (behind the military services) of electricity on Oʻahu in a state which pays the highest prices for electricity in the nation. Drawing on best practices elsewhere, the Chancellor sought the advice of experts from the University of California that succeeded in achieving significant energy and cost savings on UC campuses. The experts will share their solutions, and then partner with Hawaiʻi experts to modify them to fit the specific needs of UH.

Chancellor‘s Energy Summit

8:00 a.m. — 12 noon
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Keoni Auditorium, Immin Conference Center
Jefferson Hall, East-West Center

The agenda for the entire summit program, including times for visiting California presenters, may be found on the Web at: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/mco/energy/.

For more information, visit: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/mco/energy