EWC President Charles E. Morrison (center) and EWC Foundation VP Mangmang Brown with Island Pacific Energy President Joseph Saturnia and members of the EWC Sustainability Task Force.
Building on the East-West Center’s Sustainability Initiative and track record as Hawaii’s first educational institution to receive a Hawai‘i Green Business Award, the EWC recently installed a 175-kilowatt photovoltaic system on the roof of John A. Burns Hall. Designed by Island Pacific Energy, the 640-panel project provides energy to the Center at a significant cost savings through a purchase power agreement, while further reducing the Center’s carbon footprint. The PV system is expected to produce enough energy in one year to provide the electricity needs of roughly 40 Oahu homes using 600 kilowatt-hours a month. The solar energy generated equates to an estimated annual savings of 25,000 gallons of gas and 200 tons of CO2 emissions, with a CO2 offset equal to approximately 6,000 trees.
Click here to see the up-to-the-minute monitoring of the Center’s solar energy production, including the environmental impact statistics. Aerial photos of Burns Hall featuring the rooftop solar panels can be viewed at this link under the “Project Details” tab.
