Stimulus Funds for Maui and Hawaii Electric Companies

According to the a story by the Associated Press, October 20, 2010, under the headline; “Stimulus funds supporting Hawaii energy storage,” $1.2 million will be awarded to Maui Electric Co. and $900,000 to Hawaii Electric Light Co.
The article quotes Steve Lindenberg, U.S. Department of Energy renewable energy senior adviser, as saying the funds are intended to expand renewable energy use in Hawaii.
Obviously, one of the concerns with solar and wind power—two sources Hawaii is betting on—is that it is intermittent. Storing that energy will be critical to being able to rely upon them as a viable alternative to imported petroleum.
Where I live we largely depend on michigan gas utilty companies for heating and the like but I think that they are likewise starting to move away from things like natural gas and into more sustaniable energy sources overall, which is definately great. However I do not think Michigan is at the top of the heap in that regard just yet but I am optimistic that this day will eventually come, hopefully sooner rather than later. Anyways back to the main story: the total grid-connected photovoltaic capacity installed in the sunny state of Hawaii increased by almost fifty percent from 8.6 megawatts in 2008 to 12.7 megawatts in 2009. All in all the source of this data is the 2009 U.S. Solar Market Trends, Interstate Renewable Energy Council report that had Hawaii ranked number two in the whole United States of America last year for installed solar power per person. I wonder where it will be next year. Of course Hawaii has an advantage for solar power that michhigan does not have, they are closer to the equater, which is whay michigan uses so much natural gas for heating and the like.