Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S) has said that it is at the center of a new Hawaii-based research initiatives on biofuels, working closely with the University of Hawaii and various federal agencies to expand production of renewable energy.
HC&S noted support from Daniel Inouye in detailing annual federal funding of at least $4m that will be made available through two separate programs, one funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the other by the Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR), to conduct research at HC&S.
The DOE funding of $2m annually will be directed to research on energy crop development and energy conversion technologies to be conducted by the University’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR).
The ONR funding, also $2m annually, will support complementary crop and technology assessments, as well as an evaluation of long-term resource requirements for biomass production.
In announcing the ONR portion of the funding, US Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said the USDA would direct the research initiatives, providing $2m per year through 2015, to help Hawaii accelerate sustainable biofuel feedstock production.
Chris Benjamin, general manager of HC&S, said: “This federal funding represents a vote of confidence in Hawaii and in the future of HC&S. It is a significant step toward our goal of transforming HC&S into a large-scale energy farm, playing a key role in securing Hawaii’s energy future.”
Mr Benjamin continued, “These research programs further complement our ongoing efforts to pursue energy projects with the private sector.
“Our ultimate goal is to produce advanced biofuels and renewable electricity from sugarcane and other biomass crops grown in Hawaii. In order to do that, we must carefully assess both parts of the bioenergy picture: the feedstock supply and the feedstock conversion to fuel.”
Mr Inouye added the funds invested by the DOE and the Navy’s ONR will support studies that could benefit biofuel development efforts not just in Hawaii but across the US Mainland.
HC&S cultivates more than 35,000 acres of sugarcane in Maui’s central valley and provides employment to 800 Maui residents. Most of its raw (unrefined) sugar is shipped to Crockett, California for further refining by C&H Sugar.
HC&S also produces food-grade specialty sugars at its Pu’unene Mill on Maui.
Besides supplying the electricity for all of its own operating needs, HC&S produces about 7% of the electricity consumed by the rest of the island of Maui.