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Renewable Energy and Island Sustainability Series
Hawai‘i has enormous engineering, scientific, economic, and social challenges to overcome before the State can make the transformation from a fossil fuels based economy to an economy based on renewable energy and conservation.
The REIS (Renewable Energy and Island Sustainability) Center was established in 2009 and initially funded through a $1M University of Hawai‘i at Manoa grant on sustainability. Faculty come from the College of Engineering and eight other schools and colleges to work on cutting edge research and education problems in renewable energy and island sustainability. To fulfill its goals, in part, REIS Center plans a series of public workshops in energy and sustainability to provide relevant workforce training in 2011.
REIS goals include:
- Develop interdisciplinary education programs in energy and sustainability to provide Hawai‘i, US, and global work force training.
- Conduct multi-disciplinary research in renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart grids, and sustainability.
- Assist the State of Hawai‘i, utilities, industry, and national laboratories to attain renewable energy and energy efficiency goals.
- Develop experimental laboratories such as the UH Green Holmes Hall Initiative (GHHI).
- Develop recruitment, retention, and outreach programs with special consideration for underrepresented students.
REIS Center currently receives funding from Department of Energy (a $2.5M Strategic Training and Education in Power Systems grant. REIS team members are also finalists for the 2011 US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.
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