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We reported live from the from Tuesday Sept. 13 to Thursday Sept. 15.

The complete blog is below. To read a summary of the meeting, please click here.

11:15 a.m. Getting Past Community Resistance to Wind

First Wind is the biggest wind project developer in Hawaii, with wind farms on the west side of Maui and Kahuku on Oahu. It is also in the process of developing two new wind farms on both islands.

While wind farms have faced resistance in local communities, most notably on Lanai and Molokai with the “Big Wind” project, Kekoa Kaluhiwa, a well-respected representative of First Wind, talks about how critical it is to work with local communities – and how this has been central to First Wind’s success.

For the Kahuku wind farm, which went up this year, the company went door-to-door talking to the community, said Kaluhiwa, who said it was treated like a political campaign.

The company is also very open to bringing people to its Kaheawa wind farm, which sits atop a ridge south of Lahaina, so they can see how the technology works.

“I’m probably the best paid tour guide in all of Hawaii,” joked Kaluhiwa. In the past year and a half, he has conducted 60 to 70 tours of the wind farm. “That’s how important First Wind takes community engagement.”

10 a.m. On the Precipice

Glauthier says if we don’t make these changes in energy then “we are heading for a cliff” – environmentally and economically.

“We are all in this together,” he says. “Let’s work together.

9:40 a.m. Valley of Death

Energy technologies often fall into the valley of death, says Glauthier. After R&D and pilot projects, companies often have a hard time taking products to market. Glauthier says sometimes financing is a problem, but often companies often don’t like change. The public has to become comfortable with the energy innovation.

9:36 a.m. Glauthier Says We Need to Scale-Up on Energy

Glauthier says the glass is half-full and half-empty on renewable energy. The solar industry has taken off, but only comprises .1 percent of U.S. electricity production. Wind energy is going well, with a 40 percent increase in generation, but it only comprises 2 percent of U.S. electricity needs.

For Hawaii, 9 percent of energy on Maui comes from wind. Statewide, it’s 3 percent.

9:26 a.m. T.J. Glauthier: DOE Not So Focused on Energy, More on Nuclear Arsenal

Former deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy, Glauthier says that he wasn’t as able to focus on energy issues at the DOE as he would have liked. The department currently has a $20 billion budget, but only one-third of that goes to energy. The biggest program: the U.S. nuclear weapons. He says the designing, building and maintaining nuclear weapons for the country is “a big distraction.”

9:21 a.m. Ambitious Plans for Taichung City

In the next 10 years, Hu is working to transform Taichung City into an environmentally progressive city. He wants to turn all buses into “green buses,” with low carbon output; have 100 megawatts of solar capacity generation; and double or triple the city’s bike paths.

9:15 a.m. Greening Taichung City, Republic of China (Taiwan)

Jason Hu, mayor of Taichung City, talks about the environmental progress in his city in the past 10 years: waste reduction rates grew 205 percent; waste recycling rates grew 266 percent; public sanitary sewage grew 22.8 percent; and the city’s green space ratio grew 175 percent.

5:30 p.m. Conference is Pau for Wednesday

That concludes Wednesday’s coverage of the Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo. Tomorrow keynote speakers will include TJ Glauthier, of TJG Energy Associates and Jason Hu, mayor of Taichung City, Republic of China. Some of the panels will include discussions of geothermal and waste-to-energy. Join us!

4:45 p.m. OTEC Five to Eight Years Away – Makai Ocean Engineering.

Makai Ocean Engineering in Waimanalo has been working on OTEC since the 1970s and has extensive experience in seawater air conditioning systems.

Considered “a company to watch” in the race to commercializing the technology, a representative with Makai Ocean Engineering said that any commercial plant on the scale of 100 megawatts is five to eight years off. The price of OTEC is highly dependent on economies of scale – smaller plants in the range of 5 mw won’t pencil out – the energy would be very expensive and not competitive. But on the scale of 100 mw the price can be very attractive.

The company is currently working on bringing down the costs of the individual components, and researching potential technical and environmental risks. The company is working with Lockheed Martin, which has invested in Makai Ocean Engineering.

4 p.m. Ocean Energy Could Power All of Oahu, But Has it Arrived?

Hawaiian Electric Co. recently announced that it’s in negotiations with a company called OTEC International, based in Baltimore, Md., for a 100-megawatt energy plant off the coast of Hawaii. Often referred to as a “silver bullet” technology, this would be the first time that OTEC (ocean thermal energy conversion) would be commercialized on a significant scale. A plant that size would power roughly one-tenth of Oahu’s energy needs.

But is it really ready to be deployed on that scale? Other OTEC companies are struggling to get the financing for five megawatt demonstration projects. And what about the potential environmental impacts of a technology that brings up large amounts of cold, deep seawater to meet warmer surface water?

Stephen Oney, chief science officer for a local company called Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation, who has worked on OTEC for more than 25 years, gives his view of the industry and OTEC International’s prospects in Hawaii.

While he says the technology is close, it will still be a number of years off before it can be deployed on that large-scale level. And depending how far off the OTEC plant is, it could bypass state environmental controls, he says.

1:23 p.m. Sen. Mike Gabbard, Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and the Environment, Discusses the Controversy Over Big Wind

12:10 p.m. No Treaty, No Annexation: Discussion Moves from Energy to Hawaiian Sovereignty

11:59 a.m. Big Wind and Biofuels

Big Wind has attracted a host of criticism from residents on Lanai and Molokai, but it could help displace about 15 percent of Hawaii’s use of oil for electricity. The project would allow Hawaiian Electric to meet its 2020 energy goals. If it doesn’t happen – and Alm has said that this would be due to cultural and environmental issues, not technological issues – then biofuels could step in to help meet goals.

“I know the issues and discussions of biofuels for transportation or power,” said Alm, referring to the controversy over whether we have enough land to produce biofuels for both, and also whether that would displace land needed for growing food. Critics say that biofuels should solely be grown for ground transportation, with the state utilizing its other resources for electricity.

But Alm said that it could make sense to use biofuels for electricity needs too, and that it could help stimulate the agricultural industry.

“They will grow hand in hand together,” said Alm. “Biofuel can be the anchor tenant and secure a payment stream to landowners. All land that is not directly used for biofuels should be turned over to ‘ag.’”

Hawaiian Electric has signed two contracts this year for local start-up companies working to produce biofuel from agricultural feedstocks for use in its generators. The companies have yet to produce the fuel, but the 20 year contracts help the companies secure land and attract investment.

11:47 a.m. We Have to Forge Forward Despite the Noise

NIMBYism, technology wars and silver bullet thinking are all barriers to moving forward in the transition to renewable energy, says Alm.

He says it’s important to keep focused.

“When people are yelling at you just think of it as the wind,” said Alm. “Let the wind go by you. Don’t let the negative words stop you from what you need to do.”

11:45 a.m.  HECO’s Robbie Alm: “Oil is an Absurd Commodity with Absurd Prices”

Hawaii’s oil prices are erratic and recently spiked with recent disruptions in the Middle East. But this had nothing to do with energy supply, said Alm. It was the result of the market speculators – i.e. investors on Wall Street.

“For an economy like ours, that’s an absurd position to be in,” said Alm.

11:29 a.m. Gabbard: We Need to Connect the Islands and Geothermal is a Game Changer

Gabbard envisions a united state where “all the islands are connected by cable, sharing renewable energy sources and leveling electricity rates for [all the islands].”

Geothermal has attracted renewed attention and support as a possible source for powering all of the islands.

“Geothermal will be a game changer in Hawaii, guaranteed,” said Gabbard.

11:15 a.m. Public is Like Drug Addicts or Food Junkies

Gabbard says the state’s dependency on foreign petroleum could decimate Hawaii’s economy – Hawaii imports oil for about 90 percent of its energy needs.

We import 42 million barrels of oil annually in Hawaii, says Gabbard, meaning that $3 billion to $6 billion leaves the state every year.

“We’re like a drug addict or a junk food junkie,” says Gabbard about our oil dependency. “We whine and complain that it’s too expensive or that it’s too hard [to make the transition to renewables]. Just like junk food junkies are heading for a heart attack, Hawaii is heading for an energy-based heart attack. And that would devastate our economy.”

11:10 a.m. Sen. Gabbard Plans to Complain to his Senator about Traffic Problems

Gabbard, the chair of the state Senate Committee on Energy and Environment takes the podium.  He got caught in Kapolei traffic making him late — says he’s going to call his senator and complain.

11:00 a.m. PUC Taking Lead on Energy Policy, Though Sometimes It’s Like Herding Cats

The feed-in-tariff program, reliability standards working group, utility decoupling, IRP standards – OK, maybe the PUC language isn’t so accessible yet, but Morita is addressing a room filled with energy experts.

These are all renewable energy projects that the PUC is moving forward with. The reliability standards working group is particularly important, says Morita.  It involves figuring out how to integrate more intermittent sources of renewable energy onto the electric grid, such as solar and wind, without disrupting grid stability.

Engineers would be helpful on this issue. Morita says that the PUC is made up of about three engineers and the rest lawyers.

“It’s worse than herding cats,” said Morita.

10:55 Hermina Morita: Primary Goal is to Demystify the PUC

Using obscure terms and talking to the public in language they can’t understand is something that PUC Chair Morita wants to do away with at the PUC.

Morita says that she wants to make sure the public understands how the PUC arrives at its decisions and comes to its conclusions.

Sen. Gabbard has arrived!

10:33 a.m. Where is Sen. Mike Gabbard?

The panel on energy policy and strategies was waiting on Sen. Mike Gabbard who is running a little late. Key players in Hawaii’s energy sector are here, including PUC Chair Hermina Morita; Robbie Alm, Executive Vice President of HECO; and Doug Codiga, an attorney with Schlack Ito who specializes in environmental law and represents Blue Planet Foundation.

Morita jokes that everyone should clap really loud at key points for the PUC, which gets beat up on a lot. They have a tough job and are moving aggressively to promote Hawaii’s renewable energy goals.

Still waiting on Gabbard, the panel decides to forge ahead.

9:00 a.m. Lockheed Martin: Military Worried about National Security

The Department of Defense and military are not a bunch of conservationists, says Chris Myers of Lockheed Martin, but they believe the nation’s dependency on oil is a national security risk.

Lockheed Martin is working on a portfolio of energy technologies for the Asia Pacific region.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion – or OTEC – has been a particular focus. The company has been working closely with local company Makai Ocean Engineering, which began working on the technology in the 1970s during the Middle East oil crisis that sent fuel prices soaring. When prices went down, investors lost interest, but now there is renewed attention.

Myers says OTEC could be a great resource for the Asia Pacific region – it provides constant, base power for electricity generation.

8:50 Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz: Hawaii Supreme in Energy, Though a Little Divided

Keynote speaker Brian Schatz kicks off the conference touting Hawaii’s progress and national leadership.

“We have the most aggressive public policy in clean energy in the United States,” said Schatz.

He notes Hawaii’s abundant resources: geothermal, solar, biofuels and wave energy.

But he says the state needs to pull together, criticizing the mentality of “technology versus technology, island versus island, community versus community.”

8:40 a.m. James Woolsey’s Video Interview With Civil Beat Is Up!

Check it out here.

6:20 Conference is Pau for Tuesday

Tomorrow Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, Chris Myers from Lockheed Martin and Patricia Glaza, CEO of CTSI will open the conference. On the roster: electric vehicles, wind energy, the green work force, ocean thermal energy coversion, and much more.

5:15 Hawaii’s Cable Dreams? Certainly Feasible.

In spite of all the obstacles, “some projects do get built,” says Edward Krapels of Anbaric Transmission, who specializes in energy transmission projects. In fact, there are 50 to 100 major cable projects globally. Not all of them are undersea cables; some are above ground.

While there has been some local skepticism about the feasibility of transporting electricity via cable throughout the Hawaiian islands, Krapels says that there are far larger and more complicated projects in existence than anything that is being proposed in Hawaii.

Message to Hawaii: Move forward with projects – developers and investors are enthusiastic.

4:45 Project on Project Risk

Building a cable to nowhere is not ideal for any developer, nor is building a wind farm with nowhere for the energy to go. Called project on project risk, this is an issue that renewable energy developers face when trying to pull a large project together. The most notable example being the Big Wind project, in which the cable and wind farm developers must trust one another to pull through.

There are a host of other issues that companies have to worry about, according to Bill Campbell, of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, a global law firm, who has specialized in such projects.

There are risks involved in obtaining site control, regulatory issues, permitting and possible litigation.

“Permitting issues can derail a project for years,” said Campbell.

It’s difficult – as can be seen from the number of large projects in Hawaii that have failed.

4:35 Connecting All of the Islands Via Undersea Cable

Connecting all of the islands via undersea cables for electricity transmission is not a new idea. But it’s received renewed attention with Hawaii’s Clean Energy Initiative; plans to transport wind energy from Lanai and Molokai to Ohau; and a revival of hopes to bring geothermal energy from the Big Island to other islands.

Gerald Sumida, a partner at Carlsmith Ball who represents energy companies and played a major role in crafting the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, is moderating a panel. He advances the idea of thinking of Hawaii as one island, with some water in between.

2:35 Woolsey Pushes Interview to 2:50. Civil Beat Gets in One Last Question for Panel.

Hawaiian Electric Co. has just signed a contract with Hawaii BioEnergy to supply 10 million gallons of fuel to its Kahe generator on Oahu. Kauai wants biofuels too – why aren’t they selling it to Kauai Island Utility Cooperative? (Hawaii BioEnergy hasn’t yet produced the fuel, but has five years to deliver.)

Answer: “The simple answer is that HECO issued a RFP for biofuels. It’s one of three they have announced so far,” said Brad Rockwell, of KIUC. He mentions Aina Koa Pono and Pacific Biodiesel.

“This one might raise some eyebrows. They are looking for lands on Kauai. We’re also talking to those folks,” said Rockwell. If the project works out, he said that it’s something they would be interested in.

2:25 James Woolsey – the Interview

Civil Beat cuts out of panel to interview , former director of the CIA and board member of Kuokoa, the start-up company that is working to take over Hawaiian Electric Co. and implement its clean energy plan. Read the article about our interview.

2:10 The Other 5 percent of the State Takes the Stage

Hawaiian Electric tends to drown out Kauai’s utility, the much smaller, non-profit, member-owned utility. But the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative is plugging along – looking at hydro, solar and biomass – maybe wind, though there is the bird issue.

On Kauai, there have been a few wind developers looking at projects, but they haven’t secured land or found good sites for wind, said Brad Rockwell of KIUC. He also notes that there are more endangered bird species on Kauai.

What!? Rockwell says that KIUC has a circuit on its electric grid with nearly 100 percent solar – meaning, intermittent – energy. This is bound to anger the solar guys, frustrated that Hawaiian Electric Co. won’t lift “triggers” on circuits. Once a circuit reaches 15 percent solar, or intermittent energy, companies usually have to pay for a costly interconnection study, with no guarantee that their project will be permitted on Hawaiian Electric’s grids. Hawaiian Electric has stressed that it has to maintain grid stability and be cautious with intermittent sources of energy. But it says it does want more solar.

1:45 Hawaiian Electric Co. is swamped and OTEC on the horizon?

There is no shortage of companies trying to get their renewable energy projects onto Hawaiian Electric’s grids on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.

“My folks are swamped,” said Barry Nakamoto, an executive for Hawaiian Electric Co.

Hawaiian Electric has a host of contracts that it has already negotiated and is working to negotiate, as it relates to wind, solar and waste-to energy.

The most startling news: Hawaiian Electric is currently negotiating a contract for 100 megawatts of energy from OTEC International. OTEC stands for ocean thermal energy conversion. It’s pre-commercial – it’s never been done before – and it’s considered a game changer. The technology brings massive amounts of cold deep seawater to the surface, where it reacts with warmer surface water to produce energy that is transferred to shore via cable.

OTEC International is a Baltimore company. Many have believed that local company, Makai Ocean Engineering, has been the frontrunner in the race to commercialize OTEC. Has Ocean International emerged as the frontrunner?

1:30 p.m. This isn’t the Kuokoa panel

A panel on allowing more solar projects onto the electric grid convenes, moderated by Jeff Mikulina, director of Blue Planet Foundation. In attendance are electric utility execs from Hawaiian Electric Co. and Kauai Island Utility Cooperative.

Mikulina makes clear that the panel isn’t about Kuokoa.

“If you think this is the panel to talk about plans to take over Hawaiian Electric Co., you are in the wrong room,” he says. “That’s down the hall in an unmarked room.” He adds that you may have to slip them some money to get in.

10:10 George Kailiwai gives the military perspective

The military in Hawaii has ambitious goals to convert to renewable energy. In Hawaii, it has become a major focus with the military planning to take military bases “off grid.”

Beyond electricity, one of the biggest challenges for the military is its 70 percent reliance on petroleum for jet fuel, said Kailiwai. The Department of Defense has created a program known as GIFTPAC, hoping to incentivize companies to develop biofuels for jet transportation.

The military is hoping to displace about 25 percent of its fuel with “green fuel” – this comes out to 32 million gallons of biofuel.

“Energy is really the nexus of three primary security issues,” said Kailiwai. “National security, economic security and environmental security. I think this is the venue to explore the importance of energy in those three realms of security. It’s very important.”

9:50 a.m. James Woolsey Wraps Speech

Woolsey doesn’t mention his association with Kuokoa, the start-up company that hopes to take over Hawaiian Electric Co. Woolsey was recently announced as a board member.

9:49 a.m. Woolsey: Capitalists Can Be Stupid and Greedy

Woolsey takes a global view of the dangers of oil dependence.

With a trillion dollars a year from the world’s oil consumption going to OPEC, Woolsey warns of the dangers that this poses in propping up dictatorships and autocratic kingdoms

Of the nine largest oil exporters, eight are dictators or autocratic kingdoms, according to Woolsey, and by purchasing oil from these countries it only increases their power.

He references a remark by Vladimir Lenin, saying that capitalists will sell us a rope to hang ourselves.

“We borrow more than a billion dollars a day from people who hate us,” says Woolsey, who adds that capitalists can be stupid and greedy.

9:22 a.m. James Woolsey Takes Stage

Says Middle East oil crisis in the 1970s sparked the U.S. to move off oil for electricity on Mainland. Less than 1 percent of electricity on Mainland is generated by oil – in contrast to Hawaii, where we are reliant on oil for about 90 percent of our electricity.

Says benzene from oil is highly toxic, cancer causing. The EPA has never taken on the energy companies on this.

Says if oil is cut off for more than a few days, on the Mainland we have serious problems because of transportation reliance. But in Hawaii we would be without any energy, period, he says.

9:00 a.m. Conference Begins

Gov. Neil Abercrombie takes the podium. Says confidence in our future has been shaken and we are going to try to take control of our own destiny. Says we have to have a pono attitude. Must look to our land and sea around us for guidance – we don’t dominate anything, he says. Fundamental to this is energy independence.

Abercrombie mentions new contract between Hawaiian Electric and Hawaii BioEnergy, a biofuels company. Says some people say biofuels are too expensive, but we have the highest rates of electricity in the country and the biofuels industry will keep money in the state.

Abercrombie says people say Hawaii is the crossroads of the future – but, no this isn’t true. Says cross-roads are something you pass through. We are the meeting place, we are the anchor.

Says we have more alternative energy options than anywhere in the world and great investment opportunities for companies.

Abercrombie touts Hawaii’s great progress – electric vehicles, solar panels and smart grid research.

Says our diversity here in Hawaii unites us not divides.

Mentions President Obama as example of Hawaii’s diversity. Assures audience that President Obama was born here – in Kapiolani Hospital. Says he was here in Hawaii when it happened – though not in the room.