Perspective Pivot: Mapping a Landscape of Voices in Oahu Changes Energy Planning

Photo from Kendall Leonard, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute. Retrieved from cleantechnica.com

At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), researchers often serve as guides who help communities navigate the world of renewable energy solutions. But in community-based technical assistance projects, the guiding role goes both ways: Researchers need local perspectives to fill contextual knowledge gaps and create more meaningful energy solutions.

“Energy problems are people problems. We prioritize the interests of people and develop tools to serve them,” said Katy Waechter, an NREL researcher whose people-focused lens helped her team make critical adjustments during an energy resilience project for the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

Over the course of six weeks, Waechter—along with representatives from the Hawaiian Electric utility and Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, affiliated with the University of Hawaii—traveled the 600-square-mile island to hear how individuals perceived independently owned hybrid microgrids. No amount of preliminary research could prepare the team for what they discovered: candid concerns, fresh perspectives, and previously uncharted priorities that ultimately pivoted the team’s research direction to better inform Oahu-wide energy planning.