I recently had the honor of sitting down with Henk Rogers , a true climate champion and one of my longtime heroes, to discuss solar, storage, microgrids, and all the other nice stuff. Rogers gained a fortune in the gaming industry by contributing to the creation of Tetris, and he afterwards focused on discovering what else was going on in the globe. And at one point, the Honolulu newspaper, Rogers’ former city, published an article predicting that coral reefs will most likely disappear within our lifetimes. It was his “spear to the chest” moment, much like Ray Anderson’s notorious reading of The Death of Birth was for him. After learning that humans (and our carbon emissions) were to blame for this environmental catastrophe, Rogers became an advocate of clean technology.
Instantly, he made the decision to address climate change. He likes to quote the adage that you can’t order someone else to tidy their room if you haven’t already done it yourself. The state of Hawaii, which still exports more than $5 billion annually for fossil fuels to power a state that is blessed with significant wind, solar, and geothermal reserves, was the place where Rogers decided to start his work. It took Rogers’ Blue Planet Foundation seven years of advocacy and education to persuade the state to adopt the nation’s first 100% clean energy RPS, a model that many other states quickly copied and currently covers more than 50% of the country’s population.
In order for Hawaiian Electric (HECO), a public utility, to be able to profit more from renewable sources, Rogers claimed that the key to the renewable standard was to alter HECO’s business model. They became content to be seated at the table all of a sudden.
According to Rogers, “HECO makes more money on renewables—by legislative design.” Added to the price of oil, they were earning 10% more (which HI uses predominantly for energy). We had to alter that equation. They spend 27 cents per kWh to create energy using oil. Mostly from Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Libya. The cost for them to produce and store renewable energy is currently roughly half that amount. Aligning incentives with utility is something we must do on every “island” in the world.
This is our conversation with Henk:
WHAT STARTED IT After the interview, Rogers revealed to me that he had once participated in a panel with a data scientist from the University of Hawaii at an IUCN conference. Rogers recalled the scientist rejecting his claim that Hawaii would be powered entirely by sustainable energy by 2045. I’m using editorial license to paraphrase the obtuse scientist, and I hope you don’t mind, but he or she remarked something to the effect of, “Yo, man, I study this stuff and that sh*t just ain’t conceivable.” I may not be as smart as this man, but I’m going to do this nevertheless, Rogers stated after regaining control of the microphone. Rogers’ entrepreneurial mentality disregards these “realities” of the world, much like Yvon Chouinard did. The famous quote from Chouinard goes, “Study the juvenile delinquent if you want to understand the entrepreneur. The criminal is expressing his feelings by acting out, “This sucks, I’m going to do my own thing.
Few years after Rogers said that we would, Hawaii did embrace its 100% renewable energy goal (by 2045). Rogers claimed that it was not only feasible but also progressing more quickly than we could have anticipated. According to Rogers, we are easily surpassing the initial mandate deadline of 2030, which said that we would reach 40%.
It only goes to show that when you are completely immersed in your studies, it might be difficult to look ahead. The University of Hawaii’s data scientist was more interested in understanding the current state of affairs than future trends. In support of his claim that motivation leads to major advancements, Rogers cites all the victories in WWII. We developed sonar, a number of other technology, including the atomic bomb, and moved from biplanes to jet planes. 5 years hence.
Rogers also used solar power and batteries to take his ranch off the grid. The ranch is a complete microgrid. Outback and Solarc inverters are present at the ranch, but Blue Planet’s control software ensures that they are compatible. Blue Planet Energy sells the lithium ferrous phosphate batteries that Rogers is utilizing at his ranch, and they have a number of advantages. Rogers claims that they are safer. There is no need for a cooling system because they don’t become hot. Each battery module has sensors that help balance temperatures and output. Less moving parts mean less maintenance and fewer potential problems. They come with a 15-year warranty from BPE.
The most prominent case studies for Blue Planet Energy are in “island” communities like Alaska and Puerto Rico. After Hurricane Maria severely damaged the public health of the island by knocking out the power to a large portion of it, Puerto Rico installed microgrids. BPE’s microgrids allow schools to serve as shelters (as they were intended but failed after Maria). Red Cross gave Blue Planet money to convert 120 of these schools with microgrid technology. When the power went out following the next hurricane, all the schools had power and could help people with the necessities of an emergency: clean water, lighting, and a secure place to stay.
Shungnak, an Alaskan settlement, is the other “island.” Because it’s so far away and above the Arctic circle, I refer to it as a “island.” A lot of the settlements in this region receive resupply flights. As a result, it is exorbitantly expensive, and diesel powers all of these villages. Since there is plainly insufficient solar power during the winter, BPE’s microgrid in Shungnak augments the diesel. However, the technique saves 25,000 gallons of diesel year, which might equal 8–10 times that amount in price savings for fuel flown over the Arctic Circle. The village’s microgrid consists of 225 kw of solar power and 12 BP ion LX cabinets. Rogers had to travel two weeks on a river raft to reach the community because it is so far away. They recently had a few days where they ran entirely on solar power after the BPE microgrid was installed. He questioned, “Can you picture having a huge diesel generator running all the time in your town.” “And they had power and there was no sound of a diesel generator for the first time, perhaps in their lives.”
A REPORT ON HAWAII We owe Rogers’ Blue Planet Foundation a debt of gratitude for helping to pass a law mandating the end of coal production by 2022. Hawaii is already using more diesel than usual, but this is only because supply chains delayed several solar and storage projects that were meant to help replace the coal plant by this year. It combines logistics and bureaucracy with COVIID. The permitting procedure, according to Rogers, is a major issue in Hawaii. “If there’s a technological or financial reason we can’t make 2045, it’s the permitting process.”
Rogers responded that it’s just the way it has to be done and that regulators, the utility, and others were aware of this closure for a long time and could have moved more quickly, but that COVID and supply chain issues slowed down much of the process. I asked Rogers about the pushback that is occurring as a result of the short-term increase in electricity prices, and he said that it is simply the way it has to be done. The bottom line is that you shouldn’t just keep kicking, though. Nothing happens if there is no deadline, according to Rogers.
WORLD STATE AND OUTLOOK ON THINGS TO COME I questioned Rogers for his final words on the state of the planet and the role that the Blue Planet Foundation plays in it.
To combat the fossil fuel business, Rogers stated, “we need to organize so that they can’t stifle our voice.” Thus, BPF is inking MOUs with numerous other charities that are coordinated but not all of them. The objective is to forge a cohesive voice to counteract the billions of dollars in FUD PR expenditures made annually by the fossil fuel industry.
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