The solar panel industry is one that is quickly gaining traction. There are companies, and even entire countries, that are trying to switch to this form of energy. The University of Hawaii’s campus is trying to lead the US in this industry by aiming to be the first US school to be 100% solar powered.

To accomplish this, the school is teaming up with Johnson Controls and Pacific Current. The first step is identifying where the wasteful energy spending was. They found that simply by putting sun shades up around their buildings, they could significantly reduce energy that would have been used on air conditioning.

They also found that their energy wasn’t being stored efficiently. They will amend this system with a battery storage system, so energy isn’t wasted by moving it over long distances. Overall, these energy upgrades will cost about $20 million.

The goal is to have it with 90-98% renewable as early as 2019. That last 2-10% is a hard step to take, and estimates are that they won’t make it there until 2035-2045.

Eric Cawley is an occasional blogger for Gary Stringham & Associates. Gary provides consulting and expert witness services in embedded systems such as robotics. Feel free to contact Gary at 208-939-6984.