The broader impact of this project is to contribute to the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) and preventing beach pollution by increasing the vehicle service life and reducing the vehicle maintenance.

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Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative: The purpose of HCEI is to change the ways energy efficiency and renewable energy are used in the State of Hawaii, and to achieve 100% clean energy by the year of 2045. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is supporting Hawaii to achieve 70% of their clean energy needs. This 70% is a combination of 40% from renewable energy generation and 30% from energy efficiency. One of the main focuses is to integrate renewable energy into the utility grid. Hawaii is setting an example for other states and island communities, mainly because Hawaii remains the most oil-dependent State in the nation. 85% of it’s energy is derived from imported petroleum and petroleum products. 74% of electricity in Hawai’i is generated using oil, compared to the figure on the U.S Mainland which is less than 1% [2]. This project will help to achieve this goal by using renewable energy for charging.

 

Beach Pollution: Protecting Hawaii’s beaches from pollution is very important because they bring in an estimated $800 million in gross revenue from tourism [7] and are culturally significant to the Native Hawaiian community. Noise is the main type of pollution affecting the beaches from current vehicles. According to an SAE journal the noise level of a ATV from 30 feet away ranges from 68 -75 db. [2]. Noise pollution has negative effects on people such as decreasing helpfulness to others, increases in aggressive behavior, and increased annoyance. These side effects are greatly increased when noise pollution is low frequency or accompanied by vibrations [1]. Thus noise pollution has a negative effect on a tourists’ beach experience. This project will reduce noise pollution by eliminating the internal combustion engine.