Mirrored solar collectors at a new solar farm by Sopogy called Holaniku at Keahole Point. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Baron Sekiya)

Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Contributing EditorSopogy president Darren Kimura and Gov. Linda Lingle flipped the switch to usher in a new era of solar power technology Thursday morning at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii.Sopogy – which takes two letters each from the words solar, power and technology – is the world’s first MicroCSP solar thermal plant and is now supplying 500 kilowatts to HELCO’s grid. The Big Island already gets more than 30 percent of its energy from clean renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal projects.The facility will reduce the need to import more than 2,000 barrels of oil annually and reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 6,000 tons over 30 years.

Darren Kimura

Kimura, a Waiakea High School graduate, has been working on the clean energy concept since 2002, after rejecting flat plate solar and photovoltaic methods as inefficient.Eventually, Kimura and his team settled on the Sopogy prototype, and set about building the 3.8-acre project at NELHA.He said he is proud that the new technology was developed in Hawaii and built in Hawaii with local contractors.“It’s obvious why we picked Kona,” he said, waving at the clear blue skies and mid-morning sun. “This is not technology people here in Hawaii have seen before. MicroCSP is an achievement in rugged, modular and cost effective solar thermal technology.”The 2-megawatt thermal energy plant utilizes 1,000 proprietary MicroCSP solar panels. Through the use of mirrors and optics and an integrated sun tracker, these panels achieve higher efficiencies than conventional solar panels.The system also uses a unique thermal energy storage buffer that allows energy to be produced during cloudy periods and to shift energy produced from the day to evening periods.Essentially, the sun’s heat is captured by the mirrors and deflected toward liquid-filled pipes, which produce the steam that turns the turbine.

Equipment at the the new solar farm by Sopogy called Holaniku at Keahole Point. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Baron Sekiya)

Kimura said it is not unlike a traditional power plant.“What we’re effectively doing is producing energy much the same way but with no fossil fuels,” he said. “Because we’re dealing with steam and heat, we’re able to put that into a storage container and thereby overcome things like clouds or nighttime periods.”The project cost slightly less than $20 million and is officially named “Holaniku at Keahole Point,” derived from the Hawaiian term for a location that has everything required for self-sufficiency.HELCO president Jay Ignacio said Sopogy will help the electric company achieve its core mission of providing reliable service at an affordable cost. Additionally, while other alternative energy supplies are tied to oil costs, Sopogy is decoupled from those fluctuations.“That’s one very big plus for this project,” he said. “Sopogy has a steady output with this technology. From the utility’s perspective, this technology is very attractive.”While the amount of power Sopogy can deliver in the near future is not huge, Ignacio said the benefits will be long-lasting.“It’s the principle behind the technology and what we can learn from this that is substantial,” he said. “We need to reduce fossil fuels and do it right. This is reliable, economic and it’s not harmful to the environment.”

The men of Halau Kupaaina perform during the dedication of a new solar farm by Sopogy called Holaniku at Keahole Point. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Baron Sekiya)

During the blessing ceremony, Sen. Mike Gabbard and Rep. Denny Coffman presented Kimura with congratulatory proclamations and Kahu Kahekili – Larry Ursua and Halau Kupaaina performed chants and hulas.Sopogy and development partner Keahole Solar Power have a goal to bring 30 megawatts of MicroCSP power to the state by 2015, in an effort to boost the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative.The initiative aims to reduce the state’s imported energy to 30 percent within 20 years. Currently, the state spends $5-$7 billion each year to import foreign oil.

Gov. Linda Lingle

Lingle said the achieving that goal will need commitment from the government, entrepreneurs like Kimura, the utilities and consumers. She said was especially pleased Sopogy is staying true to its Hawaii roots by using local labor and creating jobs, which means the money stays in the state.Sopogy now has eight solar thermal energy facilities operating around the world. Sopogy’s MicroCSP technologies are being used in such diverse applications including process heat, solar air conditioning, roof top deployment and now power generation.Founded in 2002, Sopogy specializes in MicroCSP solar technologies that bring the economics of large solar energy systems to the industrial, commercial and utility sectors in a smaller, robust and more cost effective package. Sopogy’s goal is to create solar solutions that improve the quality of life and simplify the solar power business.— Find out more: www.sopogy.com

Gov. Linda Lingle participates in the dedication of a new solar farm by Sopogy called Holaniku at Keahole Point. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)

The crowd at the Sopogy solar farm dedication. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Baron Sekiya)

•   Solar farm moves state closer to energy independence

Darren Kimura

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii’s biggest solar array will be dedicated this week. Darren Kimura from Sopogy and the founder of Keahole Solar Power, LLC  joined Sunrise to talk to Howard Dicus about the solar plant.

Governor Lingle and Darren Kimura, president/CEO/founder, Sopogy activate the solar power system.The facility will produce enough clean solar energy to power more than 250 homes, reduce the need to import over 2,000 barrels of oil annually and reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 6,000 tons over 30 years.

“Today is a proud day,” Governor Lingle said, noting that it is one of many steps the state is taking in its pursuit of a clean energy future.

Other initiatives include collaborative partnerships between state, federal government and private sector; changing the way we build new buildings and retrofitting existing structures; providing incentives and setting requirements for alternative fuel vehicles; and placing a ban on new fossil fuel power plants in the State of Hawai`i.

In early 2008, the Lingle-Aiona Administration launched the Hawai`i Clean Energy Initiative in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy.

The bold initiative seeks to obtain 70 percent of Hawai`i’s energy from clean sources by 2030 – 40 percent from renewables and 30 percent from efficiencies and conservation and established Hawai`i as world model for energy independence.

 U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Andy Karsner said at that time, “Hawai`i’s success will serve as an integrated model and demonstration test bed for the United States and other island communities globally, many of which are just beginning the transition to a clean energy economy.”

• The Earth and Sea Project

KEAHOLE POINT, Hawaii (KHNL) There’s a most unusual farm on the leeward side of the Big Island. It doesn’t grow anything, but it’s taking a lot of heat.

It looks like something from a science-fiction movie, but hundreds of curved mirrors are specially designed solar panels.

“This is the first concentrating solar project like this in the world,” according to Darren Kimura, the CEO of Sopogy.

Packed into an acre of barren lava rock in the Natural Energy Lab, these solar collectors are smaller than more traditional energy producing ones.

They track the sun, moving throughout the day. Making the most of our island weather to make energy. The key to their success is their shape.

“Concentrating solar panels use mirrors and optics to focus and intensify the energy of the sun to create heat,” said Kimura.

The panels magnify the sun’s intensity 60 times, and heat oil sent through the hot pipes at the center of mirrors. That oil then runs an engine, creating enough electrical power for 200 homes.

The solar farm also deals with the biggest downside to renewable energy. What to do when the sun goes behind a cloud and the panels are no longer producing heat. It has gotten around that problem, by adding tanks.

The big tanks act like a thermos, keeping the hot water or oil, hot, allowing the engine to stay powered even behind a cloud or into the night.

The solar panels have also been designed to deal with the island winds and rain, by turning over to protect the mirrors, making them last even longer. Currently, the Sopogy system costs about the same as traditional electric power plants. But when it comes to solar, the skies the limit on saving fuel in the future.

“We have no fuel costs, we use the sun,” added Kimura.

The Sopogy solar farm is found on the Big Island, but there are hopes additional ones will one day fuel facilities like island hospitals, college campuses or hotels.

The Keahole Solar Power concentrated solar farm will break ground Wednesday at NELHA, in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. The project is using $10 million in state-backed special-purpose revenue bonds, approved during the 2007 legislative session.

Honolulu-based Sopogy said the solar farm will be built in phases over several acres and is the first of its kind to use the company’s MicroCSP technologies.

The company said it had been conducting research and development, as well as waiting for permits to construct the solar farm.

Once the first phase of the project is completed, Keahole Solar Power will produce electricity for over 100 homes. The one-megawatt solar farm will be capable of powering 500 homes and offsetting over 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the company said.

Unlike photovoltaic cells that convert light to electricity, Sopogy’s proprietary solar technology uses curved mirrors to intensify and focus the sun’s energy to heat mineral oil, which is then used to drive turbines and generate electricity