
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded more than $7 million in grant money to support green energy development and distribution in Hawaii, the state's governor, Neil Abercrombie, recently announced at the Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo in Honolulu.
$750,000 will be given to the state's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, which will work with utilities to increase the proportion of renewable energy on the grid.
A $6.1 million grant will be disbursed to the University of Hawaii to develop innovate photovoltaic inverters to increase the electric grid's already impressive solar power capability. The Aloha State has doubled its number of PV systems every year since 2009, according to the governor's office.
Hawaii's investment in PV solar energy accords with national trends. A recent Solarbuzz report indicated the solar PV market in the United States will double by the end of the year. An Ernst & Young index named the United States the number one solar energy market in the world, largely because PV investment is booming.
The governor's office said the grants to DBED and UH will improve the state's renewable energy profile by addressing regulatory as well as technical challenges. In 2008, the state set a goal of having 40 percent of its electricity produced from green energy sources by 2030.

