Energy!

A bit of a drastic change from the last couple of topics we've been covering, today we will be going over energy and energy consumption in Hawaii. Now what exactly does this have to do with software engineering, you might ask? I know I did. We'll attempt to get down to that question in a bit, but first, a little background about energy consumption in Hawaii.

Because of Hawaii's unique location and environment, in terms of energy consumption it is different from the rest of the US in many ways, some of them good, and a lot of them not so good.  Because Hawaii consists of a cluster of small islands located in the middle of the pacific ocean, it means that local resources are scarce, so we must import all, if not most of our energy from overseas.  As a result, gas prices are the highest in the nation, thanks in part to import costs.  Other areas in the US have the luxury of being able to depend on a wide variety of resources for energy consumption, like coal, natural gas, and whatnot, because the resources are readily available. However, here in the Pacific, roughly 75 percent of our energy production depends solely on imported oil, which makes for a pretty expensive process.

Fortunately, while lacking in some areas, there are other environmental factors that Hawaii has going for it in terms of energy. That is, an abundance of natural energy sources throughout the islands.  Since it is pretty much tropical weather all year round, there is a high exposure to sunlight, thus solar power is an especially effective way of gaining energy.  Also, especially-strong trade-winds make Hawaii an ideal place for harvesting wind-energy. Along with other resources including hydro-electric energy and geo-thermal energy, Hawaii has the potential to become 100% self-sufficient in it's energy production and consumption.

Unfortunately, despite this potential and the opportunity to become energy self-sufficient, there are many drawbacks and obstacles in the way.  For one, the costs of overhauling the current energy infrastructure and installing renewable energy-harvesting devices are uneconomical at this point in time.  A lot of people trying to make ends meet month-to-month aren't too thrilled about having to pay higher energy bills.  However, what most people don't realize is that if the infrastructure, which is decades old, is not updated, and new energy sources aren't utilized, then at the rate we're going, electricity is going to become a lot more expensive in the future. Gas prices have been increasing for a while with no signs of stopping, and as a result our electricity bills, a product of mostly imported oil, will also rise as well.  It's either start paying more now for cheaper and sustainable energy in the future, or let it go and wind up paying gradually higher and higher prices for energy later. But like all things, it's difficult to get a large number of people to start thinking about something in the long term.

In addition to that, the question of where would these installations be built is another big issue.  Hawaii, being a bunch of small islands, doesn't really have a lot of free space, so unlike the mainland, we can't simply go out into the desert and deploy a square-kilometer of solar panels.  Regarding wind power, a lot of people are opposed to having windmills installed on the tops of mountains, as it takes away from the natural beauty of the islands.  Additionally, the areas in Hawaii with the highest potential for wind energy harvest are near the smaller, less populated islands.  However, it's Honolulu, the big city, that has the highest power demands.  The idea of having a bunch of windmills built in one's backyard to help power someone else's home doesn't really sit well with a lot of islanders from the smaller isles.  Thus, until these problems can be reconciled, it's going to be a tough journey to get Hawaii self-sufficient.

So getting back to the question, what does this all have to do with software engineering? With regards to the power grid, the network of energy that distributes power to all homes in the islands, information harvesting regarding usage is becoming an increasingly important factor in the way things work.  With this information, engineers can figure out usage at certain times, what areas need more energy or what areas could do with less, and how to effectively distribute energy in such a way that does not result in wasted power and that conserves an already limited resource. The future of energy distribution and consumption will lie heavily on the quality of the software engineers working to improve the process.