On May 23rd, Mana Pacific’s Energy Policy and Project Manager Sierra Jackovics, joined by their Programs Management Director Olga Reym, presented at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in Washington, D.C. for the Community Power Accelerator Prize PitchFest.
As a part of Phase III of the Community Power Accelerator Prize, Sierra and Olga pitched two of Mana Pacific’s community solar projects to panels of investors and philanthropists. The goal of the pitch fest was to gain additional financial support to complete the rest of the project capital stacks by the end of Phase III after this summer. The first community solar project in Moloka’i, Hawaii, is 100% community-owned by the Hoahu Energy Cooperative Molokai and is being co-developed by Mana Pacific and Shake Energy Collaborative. The second is an earlier-stage community solar project based in American Samoa with a goal of providing up to 60% bill savings for subscribers.
At the end of the PitchFest, Sierra and Olga won two of the three total awards available across all nine pitching teams – Best Community Engagement Plan and Most Captivating Presentation.
Mana Pacific extends a resounding thank you to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for hosting them and organizing the event, as well as congratulations to all the other fantastic developer teams. Mana Pacific is excited to continue developing their community solar projects in both Molokai and American Samoa, as well as to provide meaningful benefits – including substantial subscriber savings, LMI household access, workforce development training, grid resiliency, and community ownership – to communities across the Pacific.