Bill Text: HI SR167 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The National Energy Laboratory Of Hawaii Authority To Work With The University Of Hawaii At Manoa To Develop New Master And Strategic Plans.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-14 - Referred to EET. [SR167 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2024-SR167-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	167
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the national energy laboratory of hawaii authority to work with the university of hawaii at manoa to develop new master and strategic plans.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the State has invested over $130,000,000 in the creation and operation of the Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology Park (HOST Park) located in Kailua-Kona; and

 

     WHEREAS, the HOST Park is located on lands owned and operated by the National Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA); and

 

     WHEREAS, NELHA's current master and strategic plan were last updated in 2011 and 2012, respectively, necessitating the need for both plans to be updated; and

 

     WHEREAS, NELHA's HOST Park represents a clear opportunity to reassess how renewable energy technologies have advanced and what roles they can play in the State moving forward; and

 

     WHEREAS, in a Technical Memorandum prepared by the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research (PICHTR), PICHTR noted that "the large amount of interest generated in the State of Hawaii by the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative affords a great opportunity for NELHA to market itself as a hub for energy research and commercialization"; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are opportunities to explore how to leverage byproducts of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) based on renewable energy technologies at HOST Park to further support other nascent clean energy and clean transportation initiatives; and

 

     WHEREAS, the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa has conducted studies showing the potential benefits of cold water irrigation in agriculture; and

 

     WHEREAS, there is growing interest in hydrogen as an energy source, especially in fuel cells where water is the only byproduct and renewable hydrogen can be obtained from ammonia through the OTEC process; and

 

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Engineering, CTAHR, the Shidler College of Business, the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, and the Office of Innovation and Commercialization have the expertise necessary to work with NELHA to develop its next strategic plan focused on research and commercialization of OTEC and renewable energy; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that NELHA is requested to work with the University of Hawaii at Manoa to develop new master and strategic plans; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NELHA's development of new strategic and master plans is requested to be led by the College of Engineering, and assisted by CTAHR, the Shidler College of Business, the School of Ocean and Earth Science Technology, and the Office of Innovation and Commercialization; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NELHA's new strategic plan is requested to be grounded in its statutory mission established pursuant to section 227D-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the updated plans are requested to include the research and pathways towards the commercialization of renewable energy technologies, including OTEC, and their byproducts; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NELHA is requested to submit a report to the Legislature on the progress towards new master and strategic plans, including identification of new potential public and private sector partnerships, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Legislative Session of 2025; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director of the National Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority and President of the University of Hawaii System, who is requested to then transmit copies of this Concurrent Resolution to the appropriate representatives of the College of Engineering, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Shidler College of Business, School of Ocean and Earth Science Technology, and Office of Innovation and Commercialization.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

 

Report Title: 

National Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority; University of Hawaii; Master Plan; Strategic Plan; Report; Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion; Renewable Energy Technology