Hawaii residents pay among the highest energy costs in the country. We are the most oil-dependent state in America — 90 percent dependent on imported fossil fuels for our energy needs. And with the looming threat of global warming, time is not on our side.

An aggressive new state and federal initiative, however, is looking to accelerate the transformation of Hawaii into one of the world’s first economies based primarily on clean energy resources such as wind, solar, ocean, geothermal and bioenergy. The state would also serve as a model for the rest of the nation.

Gov. Linda Lingle and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alexander Karsner signed a non-binding agreement in January to establish this “Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative.”

Through the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, the state will become a test bed for technology and a place for private companies to launch new ventures.