hawaii

Kauai grid gets solar storage

The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) announced Thursday it will install a 1.5-megawatt utility-scale storage battery for its Koloa substation.

The battery storage unit made by Xtreme Power will be used to store and release energy to accommodate the intermittent nature of a nearby solar plant planned for installation on the island of Kauai.

The 3-megawatt Kauai solar plant, which will be built and run by Poipu Solar, will be capable of generating enough electricity to power over 850 Hawaiian homes when running at full capacity.

The solar installation coincides with Hawaii's goal to be generating 70 percent … Read more

Hawaii to test hydrogen vehicles with GM

General Motors announced today it is part of a partnership to test fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen fueling infrastructure in Hawaii.

The Hawaii Hydrogen Initiative aims to bring 20 to 25 hydrogen fueling stations to Hawaii by 2015, according to an agreement with GM, Hawaiian utility The Gas Company (TGC), and other research and government agencies.

The project will seek to use existing natural gas pipelines to distribute hydrogen. TGC said that it has the capacity to produce enough hydrogen for 10,000 vehicles.

Hawaii is the most fossil fuel-dependent state in the U.S., according to the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. … Read more

The 404 711: Where, well, that just happened (podcast)

Jeff is back from honeymooning in Hawaii, and it feels really good now that The 404 is complete again. Contrary to our bet with Sweet Lou, Jeff actually got along well with the sun! We'd love to report that Jeff is looking tanner than ever, but we all know that can never happen. Welcome back Bakular!

Check out the slideshow and follow along as Jeff takes us through Maui, explosive volcanoes, geckos, tons of great food, and a guy who looks a lot like Mark the (Former) Intern--at least from the neck down.

Thanks as well to Andy from the U.K. who left us a video voice mail with very nice things to say about the show, and head over to the Movember Web site to learn more about how you can help raise money and awareness for prostate cancer.

Episode 711 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Hawaii aims for microthermal solar utopia

It's not every solar project that gets its own ground-blessing ceremony.

But the Kalaeloa Solar One project will pay back native Hawaiians with both energy and rent through a partnership with Keahole Solar Power, Hawaiian start-up Sopogy, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL).

Which is why there was a ground-blessing ceremony held for the project yesterday in Kalealoa, Oahu, west of Honolulu.

Sopogy is supplying its micro-concentrated solar panels (MicroCSP) for the 5-megawatt thermal solar plant that will tie-in to a new plan for the Kalealoa community near Honolulu.

Sopogy's panels are actually small solar troughs … Read more

CNET on location with 'Hawaii Five-0'

Brian Cooley went to Honolulu to spend a couple of days with the cast and crew of the new "Hawaii Five-0," looking at the technology both in and behind the show. What follows is his video travelogue from a couple of locations and a handful of interesting conversations with the people behind the "reboot" of a classic piece of TV.

Checking out the tech with the cast and crew of "Hawaii Five-0"A lot changes in 30 years; yeah, it's been that long since cameras rolled on a new episode of "Hawaii … Read more

Hawaii Five-0: Rebooting the theme

"Hawaii Five-0" premiered as a two-hour movie on CBS on Friday, September 20, 1968. It was one of 24 new series that made its network television debut that year--others included "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in," "The Mod Squad," "Adam-12," and "Here's Lucy." With 12 seasons, "Hawaii Five-0" went on to be one of the second longest-running series of its class (second only to another little CBS show you might know called "60 Minutes").

As we embarked upon rebooting the franchise, we took great measures to … Read more

Comic-Con fandemonium!

CBS recently crossed into a new fan frontier with its first-ever booth and extensive presence at Comic-Con. For the uninitiated, Comic-Con is a wildly popular comic-book convention that's been drawing huge crowds for decades. In recent years, the four-day consumer event in San Diego has broadened its offering to also include horror, sci-fi, movies, television, and online entertainment.

People from everywhere flock to see the coolest comics and costumes, to sample movie and TV previews, to snag exclusive giveaways, and to get a glimpse of their favorite stars. Attendees are passionate entertainment lovers in the truest sense: they spend … Read more

Gamers fight back: Video shows Internet cafe patrons battling would-be muggers

An amazing video clip aired by a TV news station in Hawaii (and which we first showed you on this week's Digital City podcast) shows the PC-game-playing patrons of a local Internet cafe fighting back against a gang of bandanna-wearing thugs intent on robbing them. According to the blow-by-blow description from KHON2 News:

It is just before midnight on Wednesday. Devin Wolery is sitting at the counter at PC Gamerz in Kaneohe watching over his nine customers when two masked men walk in...Video surveillance shows him reaching to push a panic button to alert police when things escalate. &… Read more

Hawaii wind farm to synchronize with needs

Hawaii residents will soon be getting a 30-megawatt wind farm off the coast of Oahu's north shore.

The 30-megawatt Kahuku Wind farm developed by First Wind will consist of twelve 2.5-megawatt wind turbines manufactured by Clipper Windpower in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Once completed, it's expected to generate enough electricity to power 7,700 Oahu homes annually.

The Boston, Mass.-based First Wind signed of power of purchase agreement with the Hawaiian Electric Company to sell them electricity generated from the farm for 20 years at an undisclosed price.

A ceremonial groundbreaking held Wednesday for the Kahuka Wind … Read more