The university campus of Hawaii aims to become the first to use 100% renewable energy

A university in Hawaii says one of its campuses will soon It will become one of the first in the United States to use 100 percent renewable energy. The University of Hawaii Maui College will generate its power from photovoltaic (PV) solar systems and battery storage, the university said this week.

"In 2015, Hawai'i became the first state in the country to achieve unprecedented success in its commitment to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2045," the university said. "At the same time, UH and the Hawaiian Legislature set a collective goal for the university system to be 'net zero' on January 1, 2035, which means that the system would produce as much renewable energy as it consumes on its campus."

The University of Hawaii Maui College, one of the ten campuses of the University of Hawaii, "is on track to be the first to supply 100 percent of its energy needs through renewable energy," he said. the university.

University spokesman Michael Unebasami said a network of solar panels will feed the 78-acre campus of the campus by next year, part of a growing trend of schools that turn green across the country, reports the Thomson Reuters Foundation. .

In the past two years, about six universities have announced commitments to use renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels, which emit greenhouse gases that heat the planet when they burn, according to Bronte Payne of Environment America, a non-profit organization. profit. They include Colorado State University, Boston University and Cornell University, Payne said, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Fast Company reports that energy and technology company Johnson Controls designed the solar array.

Four other campuses at the University of Hawaii will also reduce the use of fossil fuels by 70 to 98 percent, according to the campus.