 Welcome to Think Tech on Spectrum OC16, Hawaii's weekly newscast on things that matter to tech and to Hawaii. I'm Lisa Anderson. And I'm Helen Dora-Heiden. We recently told you about our trip to energy facilities on Maui Island. In our show this time, we'll go further and tell you about the trip we then made to Molokai to look at the energy facilities there. Indeed, Molokai is part of Maui County. Fred Redell, Energy Commissioner of Maui, Todd Kanja of Hawaiian Electric, and Chris Reynolds of Maui Electric showed us around. They were all very knowledgeable in the generation of electrical energy and renewables on Molokai. After our morning tour of Maui, we flew to Molokai on Mokulele Airlines. The views were no less than spectacular. Once there, we drove to the diesel generation plant on Molokai and saw the new battery facility there. Right now, we're just visiting the power plant over here on Molokai. We're up at the transmission distribution office right here, the nice green building, and right behind us is our power plant. This is the only utility-scale power provider on the island. This particular battery is to provide frequency response, which helps maintain a stable grid. As we integrate more, for example, rooftop solar in the case of Molokai and weather changes, sometimes the engines aren't able to respond quite as quickly, and a frequency response function of this battery helps stabilize the grid. The normal day, everything's running. A lot of people have solar on their roofs, and the clouds come in. The generators have to pick up that load. They slow down a little bit, and the frequency goes out of range. This battery is supposed to take care of that? Yes. When you come into those kind of frequency deviations, the frequencies drops because the clouds come in, and then the PV's production is kind of slowed down. Generators have sort of a lag, so they may not be able to ramp up as fast. The battery is here to act in a much faster manner, to do a quick discharge, to pick the system back up, and allow the generators to catch up with the rest of the system. What's the change or the benefit that you see after turning on the battery? Actually, we're seeing a lot more constant and smoother frequency. We're not seeing a lot of the frequency deviations we used to see from power fluctuations, from large motor starts. It's in there, and it's constantly making corrections. It's always charging, discharging, almost on a per cycle, or every 60th of a second. It's making a check of the system and doing a basic response, either adding to the system or taking away to kind of keep it a nice smooth 60 hertz. So it can respond in a 60th of a second compared to a couple of seconds, is that what you're saying? Yeah. Actually, it's response time from round trip is about in the 50 millisecond range. It's pretty darn fast. There's a lot of R&D that went into this project, so we're looking at how this really is not a solution to fix all the problems, but it's very good at fixing this one specific issue. So we may look at other technologies to do load shifting, changing customers usage patterns, different ways to just integrate more renewable energy. So the Half Moon Ventures project, a project currently under consideration, I understand it has photovoltaics and batteries. Can you tell us a little bit about, you know, if that project was to go forward? What's different about how those batteries might be used? So those batteries almost have two purposes intended. One is actually for load shifting. So the energy produced through the photovoltaic system that can't be put onto the grid can actually be stored in the batteries and then discharged later at night. The battery system will also be available for what we call contingencies. So if there's an emergency going on and the frequency deviates quite a bit, maybe there's a vehicle accident or poles came down, generated trips offline, and that battery there will wait until the frequency gets out of a certain range, and then it will start exporting power to kind of help support the system. The company has said that they want to bring Molokai to 100% renewable energy sooner than the other islands. Partly, there's going to be a lot of learning here, that this is a laboratory. Can you tell us a little bit more about, you know, what you're learning and how this might be applied to Oahu or future islands? Absolutely. As you know, in the case of this particular battery and what we're learning here and the corrections it can provide to provide stability to grid will apply to the other islands. So we'll certainly take what we learn here and apply it to all the other islands that we're increasing the level of renewables. We've set a goal of achieving 100% renewable energy for Molokai in 2020. Number one, to try to take advantage of available federal tax credits that are available. But secondly, to try to take a smaller system like this and try to achieve 100% renewable ahead of some of the other islands so that we can actually do it on a smaller scale, take away what we learn from that experience and then apply it to the other islands. It seems like, you know, when we go around and we look at these different things that are going on, the general public doesn't really, you know, get to see behind the curtain all the things that are actually going on. I'm sure we've only got the tip of the iceberg. What should we expect in the next year? Certainly more renewables. We're certainly trying to increase the amount of resources or options that we provide to our customers. That's certainly come to pipeline with grid modernization. The other thing that we have going on is we're planning to add about 400 more megawatts of grid scale renewables to the system. In combination with that, we're looking at energy storage with those renewable projects as well as continuing the work that we've been doing and learning about more how to better integrate renewable energy and how to do it at a most cost-effective and reliable way. I understand that photovoltaic on rooftop, you know, is opening back up at a certain rate for the net energy metering. What else? Demand response? What else is next after all of these? Okay. So for the PV programs, we have what they call a customer grid supply plus program that opened up. We also have a smart export program that does use energy storage that's paired with solar that's opened up and that's got a much quicker review process. What we're trying to do with grid modernization is to create some additional capacity in the grid using technology so that we can squeeze more customer grid supply type programs onto the existing system. So we're trying to get that done. Demand response is another area. We had a number of pilot programs and we can expect to have much more options with demand response programs that customers can participate in. And of course with grid modernization coming back to that, it enables all of the utilization of all these customer resources, provides customers with the information that they need to make informed energy choices. Then we went to the Molokai Control Center in the Miko Yard in Kanakakai and had a chance to talk to the people who were there. This is the control room for Molokai and all the power that's generated here, right? Can you tell me a little bit about how many generating units there are? They're all diesel generators. We have, if you looked outside here, we have three, what we call our new ones, in the big buildings. We have six older ones that are smaller, two over there and four here. And then we have our big turbine over here that stands alone. How much power are you delivering to the island, about three megawatts, or what is it at the moment? Four. Oh, about four at this moment. Okay. And then I see very similar to on Maui, you could tell the system frequency there right at about 60 hertz. I thought I heard that there was going to be a project where you're looking at a load bank to help with frequency or to be able to shut down or to provide over frequency protection for the grid. What can you tell me about that, Chris? We're doing this in conjunction with the University of Hawaii, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute. Really the purpose is to provide protection for the system. The load bank will give us the ability to run units at low levels and still provide the ability to regulate the generation units down to ensure stability on the system. Also in the case of over frequency events, this can actually kind of put additional load on the system very quickly and stop over frequency, which would cause inverter technology like PV systems from tripping offline. So it's just one more thing we're doing trying to ensure stability to the system. I understand on Molokai that there are some proposals out there, one in particular is half-moon ventures for a photovoltaic and battery energy storage system to be integrated with the grid. Can you tell us a little bit more about that project? So basically it's a project proposing photovoltaic arrays coupled with battery storage, interconnecting close here by the power plant. Right now we're in negotiations, we're still negotiating the interconnection requirements and pricing, but we're moving along. But it's very similar to the projects that we're seeing on Kauai and in other places around the mainland using solar, storing some of that with a battery and then delivering into the night and providing other services, right? Yes, exactly. Later we stopped for an afternoon snack at Molokai Burger in Kanekakai. It was very good. While there we talked with Amelia Nordhoek, director of renewable resources of sustainable Molokai, a grassroots group concerned about renewable energy on Molokai. I'm the co-executive director of Sustainable Molokai and we run food programs and energy programs so I'm also the director of the renewable resources side. So what's going on in terms of the half-moon project, have you been involved in that? Yes, we've been involved with it since the very beginning when they were actually owned by someone else and then Mike Hastings took it over and so now they've been meeting with community members and they've been really active for the past few years. We actually had a Molokai energy convening last year with key stakeholders and they were here and they gave their pitch. And in the past year they've really worked hard on making it more community-centered and less about the developer and the utility and what does the community really want and need. How does it look now? You're involved in it, you're in discussion, you're in discussion at the very least with half-moon. What is the nature of your involvement and what positions are you advancing? Well, I'm working on behalf of the community to advance towards a community benefit. What's the nature of the new terms that you contemplate in the deal? Well, so there are a couple of things, there's some people who would like to have a co-op situation and run the renewable energy project and that's totally possible. We've spoken with the Kauai cooperative and people are more than willing to help us out. So there's that option. Is that a cooperative for this project or a cooperative for Molokai or what? A cooperative for Molokai, a Molokai energy cooperative. So that's kind of, you know, we have, you know, something set up right now that's not been totally formalized but there are people who want to move in that direction. There's also people who would, you know, prefer to say let's like hang back a little bit and let's build our capacity, let's get some of our young people involved and trained and as innovators. And let's build a community fund, you know, maybe from some a profit share scheme with Half Moon Venture where we can do that. So what does that mean? When you say sharing, you know, in the operation I guess right here you say, what would people do to share in the operation? I mean this would be different than an ordinary developer coming to town developing a project and selling electrical generation. How would people participate actively in this new model? Well, we're trying to figure that out. There's models all around the world where communities own part or all of the renewable energy projects. So and we are working with them as part of a greater network. And you know, so I think it's really a little too early to say, oh well this is the model that we're, you know, really going to go with because I think there are so many different things happening right now in this world. It's a really great time to look at all the options and you know, don't box ourselves in with like some outdated model of what it could be when really it's like things are just like popping open all over the place. So what response are you getting from Half Moon about it? You know, they were, they were a little bit apprehensive at first and but now, you know, after the meeting and after, you know, really working in the community, I actually, my case teens, you know, thanked us for working with them and pushing them to make the project better by including the community and making them look at that aspect of it. Just as in the Maui Island portion of our trip, we learned a lot about Molokai and the status and prospects of renewables and good burgers on Molokai. I think it's good to let the public know that, you know, there's things going on and it may not be visible, maybe they can't see it from the street level but, you know, we are making great leaps and bounds towards a more renewable energy future. I like the day, you know, especially because, you know, when I get out and see things this gives me new ideas, you know, what could we do? What, you know, I think that that's really where we're at right now. We have all these ideas and just so many new things are going to come up, you know. We talked about agriculture and I'm thinking, oh gosh, can you use AI for agriculture? Can we, you know, export from the Hawaiian islands that learning? Same stuff with grid stuff, you know, and some of that stuff is going to marry up if you start to really start to do agriculture in a way that, you know, is flexible with energy and vertical, you know, agriculture. All sorts of crazy stuff. You know, there's new ideas that are going to come up. They're going to come from Hawaii, which will be really cool. Well, I thought it was a great day. Thank you Fred and Jay for coordinating this and of course Chris. But, you know, I think it's great to always get out there, actually see everything in action and start talking about some of the things that exciting things that we got coming down the pipeline with grid modernization, new grid scale renewables, future customer options that we're working on to provide. So it's exciting to see all of this come together. We love to cover energy and we love to cover the neighbor islands. After all, this is an island state, not a state of islands, right? Stay tuned for more about neighbor island energy on Think Tech. And now let's check out our Think Tech schedule of events going forward. Think Tech broadcasts its talk shows live on the Internet from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Then we broadcast our earlier shows all night long and on the weekends. And some people listen to them all night long and on the weekends. If you missed a show or if you want to replay or share any of our shows, they're all archived on demand on ThinkTechHawaii.com and YouTube. For our audio stream, go to ThinkTechHawaii.com slash audio. And we post all our shows as podcasts on iTunes. Visit ThinkTechHawaii.com for our weekly calendar and live stream and YouTube links. Or, better yet, sign up on our email list and get our daily email advisories. ThinkTech has a high-tech green screen studio at Pioneer Plaza. If you want to see it or be part of our live audience, or if you want to participate in our programs, contact shows at ThinkTechHawaii.com. If you want to pose a question or make a comment, call 808-374-2014 and help us raise public awareness on ThinkTech. Go ahead, give us a thumbs up on YouTube or send us a tweet at ThinkTechHI. We'd like to know how you feel about the issues and events that affect our lives together in these islands. We want to stay in touch with you and we'd like you to stay in touch with us. Let's Think Together! And now, here's this week's ThinkTech commentary. I'm Elise Anderson, reviewing the new movie, Coco. In early December 2017, Disney Pixar's Coco reportedly became the highest-grossing box office hit of any opening weekend film in Mexican history. Inherent to this kind of exposure is, of course, a demand for cultural sensitivity. Coco does not disappoint. After watching the film, one concedes this month's attention wholly deserved. Being myself a big fan and loyal patron of Disneyland's eerie New Orleans Square neighborhood, I eagerly awaited this film as an obvious upgrade to Disney ghost lore. I foresaw a new ride, maybe a roadside fortune teller next to the beignets, a day of the dead-themed dining experience, or perhaps a revamped holiday theme in the haunted mansion. Whether or not Coco ultimately lends itself to my theme park fancies, it does twist Disney's cultural canon in a delightfully dreamy direction of ghostly gravita. John Lasseter's clever production is both gorgeous and shrewd. A brief introduction turns our necks to appreciate the minute details, thousands of faces, and millions of lights that suffuse even the most fleeting scenes in this film. The result is an enveloping world, one so convincing and complete that small children may frighten more easily than usual because they think it's real life. Supernatural phenomena and mundane electricity alike penetrate our eyes with iridescent shimmery glows. Faces jump to life between emotional extremes. Characters get convincingly dirty and wet. It's simply a visual feast. The plot also goads us to think. We ride young Miguel's emotional rollercoaster as he traverses the tricky dynamics of a loving yet overbearing extended family and its historic disdain for his own driving passion in life. Music. Most of the film pits Miguel's idea of family against his idea of personal aspiration, but through a clean and delicate plot twist we eventually see family community and personal passion fuse in the end as one and the same. Tensions resolve and loyalties shift as Miguel solves mysteries and helps the world to remember the truth as it really occurred. Identities transform on screen and all is not as it seems. We crean off the edge of our seats till the end. Children will love everything from the punchy colors to the flying painted dogs to the architectural depths to the skeletal silliness. That is, those old enough to not cry in terror first at the cranky and craggly old grandmother in her violently loud abrasive ornery ways. Adults, however, will likely find one thing particularly thought-provoking about Coco, and that's its portrayal of skeletons. Death in the film and in Mexican folklore, unlike standard American fare, is not something to shy away from in fear. In fact, my own three-year-old moviegoing companion cried more at the living characters than at the skeletal dead. The film stares death in the face, not flinching a muscle at visible femurs and spines. Skeletons are just as alive as human beings, albeit in their own parallel world. Some skeletons even retain marks of physical and sexual glamour and glitz. Coco begins with a narrative that muddles the divide between death and the living world. The tiny child in one story, namely Coco herself, is soon the decrepit crone in the next. Whole lifetimes are traversed back and forth many times. Already big, even just in animated stills, Coco attempts and grasps an even bigger picture of life and death far beyond one story's domain. It's a film to see with your family or kids, then probably to see again, at least once in your lifetime as well. Three and a half laudable stars for Coco. Ever played golf at the LOLI Golf Course? The chances are you haven't. There's only a few people who play there, and you're much more likely to get a tea time if you know someone in city government. As a city-run golf course, it's political, of course, and it's been that way for a long time. Although it's not a particularly good golf course, it sits nestled on a huge amount of acreage on the LOLI Canal, bounded by Kapahulu and Dade Street, fenced off on a ton of prime and well-located real estate in the center of our city. Is this its highest and best use? We talk a lot about the iconic properties in our city, such as the Natatorium, but those conversations go on forever without result, demonstrating the remarkable inability of our officials to make decisions or get anything done. Worse yet is the lack of any conversation about the LOLI Golf Course. It's also an iconic property, but serves only a few when it could be serving all of us. It's a perfect place for a wonderful city park, but instead it's a huge political embarrassment. Fact is, we don't have enough parks in our city where the high-rise condos increasingly crowd out the mountains, the ocean, the sky, and the people. You'd think our city officials would have noticed this. Kapiolani Park is not enough, and Kakaako Waterfront Park is only for the homeless. We need more parks and better and bigger parks and public spaces to keep up with the overwhelming crush of our city. Yes, LOLI Golf Course could become LOLI Park, the central park of Honolulu, a place of recreation and rest for all of our people, including visitors, a place to get away from the bustle and the madding crowd. There was an inspirational letter to the editor of the Star Advertiser on this point. The city owns LOLI. The city could so easily develop a park there. There are already open fields and green grass and even a clubhouse. There's room for picnics and barbecues, walking and bike paths, ball fields and parking. Making this into a park that wouldn't cost very much. A park that would serve everyone. A park that would be very, very popular. So if our city officials wanted to do something, anything, to benefit the people and the quality of our lives together in this city, they would and should make LOLI into a big, beautiful, sprawling park. They should have done this years ago. And there is no reason at all why they can't do it now. What a great idea. What a great project for 2018. Is anyone listening? We'll be right back to wrap up this week's edition of Think Tech. But first, we want to thank our underwriters. The Atherton Family Foundation. The Center for Microbial Oceanography Research and Education. Collateral Analytics. The Cook Foundation. The Hawaii Council of Associations of Apartment Owners. Hawaii Energy. The Hawaii Energy Policy Forum. The Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology. Hawaiian Electric Companies. The High Tech Development Corporation. Galen Ho of BAE Systems. Integrated Security Technologies. Kamehameha Schools. Dwayne Kurisu. Kaomon Lee and the Friends of Think Tech. MW Group Limited. The Schuyler Family Foundation. The Sydney Stern Memorial Trust. The Volo Foundation. Yuriko J. Sugimura. Okay, Helen. That wraps up this week's edition of Think Tech. Remember, you can watch Think Tech on Spectrum OC16 several times every week. Can't get enough of it, just like Helen does. For additional times, check out oc16.tv. For lots more Think Tech videos and for underwriting and sponsorship opportunities on Think Tech, visit thinktechhawaii.com, be a guest or a host, a producer or an intern, and help us reach and have an impact on Hawaii. Thanks for being part of our Think Tech family and for supporting our open discussion of tech, energy, diversification, and global awareness in Hawaii. And of course, the ongoing search for innovation wherever we can find it. You can watch this show throughout the week and tune in next Sunday evening for our next important weekly episode. I'm Elise Anderson. And I'm Helen Dora Haydn. Aloha everyone!