This October 15-20th in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mana Pacific was honored to be a partner and co-host of the Blue Planet Alliance Fellowship Program, which hosted 8 Island Countries and Territories to share solutions and make strategic plans on their journeys towards 100% Renewable Energy. Attending members included the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, the Republic of Palau, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Pohnpei State from the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Cayman Islands.
In addition to showcasing how the State of Hawaii passed its 100% Renewable Energy by 2045 law and is progressing toward its target, this week-long intensive created a productive dialogue between leaders from the government, utility, and community members in each island to assess the barriers and plan out solutions for their respective energy transitions. Mana Pacific played a pivotal role in leading and facilitating discussions, as well as sharing their insights and expertise on renewable energy solutions.
Two Mana Pacific team members presented during the Fellowship to highlight their expertise to advance the transition to 100% renewable energy in island communities. Mana Pacific’s Controller and Programs Management Director, Olga Reym, spoke on competitive finance for renewable energy projects in the Pacific region. She highlighted private financing mechanisms available to accelerate the clean energy transition, as well as the need to resolve high insurance costs that are a significant barrier to project implementation.
Logan Weber, Mana Pacific’s Chief Engineer, led an in-depth session on battery storage solutions and grid resilience. He covered the anatomy of battery systems, managing energy source intermittency and load shifting, ensuring energy reliability during storms or extended outages, and the general battery and controls market. Overall, Logan painted an image of resilient island grids, where diesel, renewable, and distributed generation work together with long and short-duration energy storage systems to provide reliable power to communities and infrastructure across Island Nations and Territories.
Mana Pacific is honored to be a partner of this Fellowship program, and thanks Blue Planet Alliance for bringing parties together to teach and learn from each other on the path towards 100% renewable energy. We are grateful to the attendees from Small Island Developing States for their engagement and look forward to continuing collaboration with participants on the deployment of renewable energy solutions. Mana Pacific is excited to continue helping plan, lead, and co-host the second round of the Fellowship Program in May 2024.
