U.S. and Japanese energy experts from the national and local governments will visit Okinawa and Hawaii from August 22-September 4. The experts on this technical mission are expected to exchange views and offer recommendations on future cooperative activities that the United States and Japan can carry out to support the “Hawaii-Okinawa Partnership on Clean and Efficient Energy Development and Deployment” signed by the U.S. Department of Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, State of Hawaii, and Prefecture of Okinawa in Tokyo on June 17, 2010.

The partnership is part of an agreement that the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Japan reached in November 2009, as the two largest funders of science and technology research, to join forces to develop transformative clean and efficient energy technologies needed to solve global energy security and climate change challenges, including technologies and public policies that can assist the State of Hawaii and the Prefecture of Okinawa to develop sustainable clean energy economies.

The energy experts are expected to tour existing energy efficient facilities, renewable energy installations and demonstrations, smart grid /city demonstration projects and facilities, exchange information on energy policy, and review research being carried out at universities and relevant facilities, and to meet with industry and academic representatives working to increase the use of cutting edge technologies (such as energy efficient building technology and electric vehicle infrastructure technology) in both Okinawa and Hawaii.