MEDIA RELEASE

Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz and The Honorable Terry Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics signed a Memorandum of Understanding on June 7, 2012 in Washington, D.C. to develop alternative transportation fuel technologies for demonstration and evaluation at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam.

The agreement calls for the state and the Air Force to select projects each year for development and deployment that demonstrate promising alternative fuel vehicle technologies. Project selection is subject to mission requirements and availability of funds.

Projects will address propulsion technologies, fueling/charging infrastructure technologies, command and control systems for alternative fuel vehicle fleets as well as alternative power generation and storage technologies as they relate to transportation.

Some of the technologies that may be considered include:
* Hybrid/electric drive systems
* Hydrogen generation
* Fuel cells
* Distributive power generation to provide power sources for demand response activities
* Renewable energy for fueling and charging of electric vehicles
* Waste-to-Energy for fueling and charging of electric vehicles and
* Power storage to include utility scale batteries and non-spinning reserve

“Clean energy is not only about electricity from renewable sources. We must also transition transportation from oil-based fuel to alternative fuels such as renewable electricity, hydrogen and biofuels,” Schatz said. “We look forward to a continuing collaboration with the Air Force to demonstrate new technologies that will make this a reality.”

“The Air Force recognizes that energy is critical to its mission, execution and success,” Yonkers said. “We have been working with the state of Hawaii since 1999 on alternative fuel vehicles and I am confident this new MOU will elevate the level of coordination and collaboration between the Air Force and the state. We are truly excited about the potential of this collaboration.”

Schatz is in Washington, D.C. leading the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii’s Military Affairs Council delegation in meetings with Department of Defense officials on bases, training ranges, quality of life and energy issues.