THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

175

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

Requesting that the UNITED STATES Secretary of Energy Support a Partnership between Iceland and Hawaii for the Development and Deployment of Renewable Hydrogen Technologies as Part of the International Partnership for a Hydrogen Economy.

 

WHEREAS, Hawaii is an island state that is dependent on imported fossil fuels for over ninety per cent of its energy needs; and

WHEREAS, the State is exploring ways to develop and use renewable energy derived from solar, wind, biomass, ocean, and geothermal resources; and

WHEREAS, the production and use of hydrogen from renewable energy resources holds significant potential for diversifying Hawaii’s energy mix; and

WHEREAS, the large-scale use of hydrogen will require a hydrogen-based energy infrastructure that incorporates safe production and storage technologies and will provide energy at low cost; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii, with its vast renewable energy resources, energy expertise, critical need for greater fuel diversity, and policy directives toward increased energy self-sufficiency, is an ideal testbed for development and deployment of hydrogen technologies; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature, through Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 183 in the 2000 Regular Session, and Act 283, Session Laws of Hawaii 2001, requested the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to examine the potential economic and environmental impact of hydrogen fuel use in Hawaii and to work to form a hydrogen private/public partnership; and

WHEREAS, a study of the large-scale use of hydrogen was completed in 2001 that determined that hydrogen can be competitive as a transportation fuel with projected increased efficiency of fuel cell vehicles; and

WHEREAS, partnering relationships and federal projects have already resulted in the joint private and public ventures that include such entities as Sunline Transit Group, Stuart Energy Systems, UTC Fuel Cells, California Energy Commission, Sentech, Inc., and Hawaii utilities; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii is now poised to pursue additional opportunities to develop its hydrogen programs; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii can be used as the leading example of renewable energy to hydrogen development for the United States Government; and

WHEREAS, Iceland also is an island economy with almost no fossil resources but abundant renewable energy resources; and

WHEREAS, Iceland has positioned itself as an international demonstration site and pioneer in energy technologies to enable the island nation to become the world’s first hydrogen economy by the year 2050; and

WHEREAS, Iceland is a key partner in the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy which serves as a mechanism to organize and implement effective, efficient, and focused development demonstration and commercial activities related to hydrogen use; and

WHEREAS, in his presentation to the Hawaii Legislature on April 1, 2004, Professor Thorsteinn Sigfusson of the University of Iceland and Board Member of the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy noted the striking similarities of the potential for hydrogen development between Iceland and Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the Secretary of Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy is directing the United States involvement in the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy that seeks to efficiently organize, evaluate, and coordinate multinational research, development, and deployment programs that advance the transition to a global hydrogen economy; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes the strong similarities between the energy situations of Iceland and Hawaii, and that collaborative projects will advance policies and technologies for the transition to a global hydrogen economy; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Secretary of Energy of the United States of America is requested to support a working partnership between Iceland and Hawaii in order to promote a real world example of the commitment of the United States to the principles of the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Secretary of the United States Department of Energy, the members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation, the Prime Minister of Iceland, the Governor, the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the President of the University of Hawaii, and the Chairman of Icelandic New Energy Ltd.

Report Title:

Renewable hydrogen technologies; Iceland-Hawaii partnership