costs of deployment for sustainable technologies. The techniques refined through these projects will be available to under-served or energy-impoverished regions, and may act as a blueprint for the redesign of the grid. Remote islands present an ideal laboratory for sustainable technologies and their integration, where similar projects may be more difficult to implement at scale on the mainland. The GIP model dynamically balances multiple distributed energy generation and storage resources in an integrated and holistic model closer in concept to that of the internet than the industrial radial-spoke model currently utilized by mainland utilities. GIP does not champion a particular technology, but rather promotes a model, that can be applied to the varied energy resources and demands of a specific region. The systems and services approach is structured on the following complimentary components: 1. Waste-to-power 2. Renewable energy (including biomass) 3. Bio-Fuels production 4. Energy storage and re-deployment techniques 5. Smart micro-grids derived from industrial energy management systems The GIP website will harness the collaboration of participants interested in promoting the “energy internet” concept for their individual respective gain. These will include eco-technology vendors, academic institutions, voluntary enthusiasts, and green capital investors. The resultant open-source technical development and promotion network will offer participants an expanded market reach and greater visibility. The GIP differs from other “green” ventures or social networking platforms in technical specificity and economic focus. Studies comparing the GIP model to traditional fossil and industrial energy delivery models will employ total cost of ownership analysis to demonstrate positive cash return for GIP investments. By proving that the “energy internet” is both executable and profitable, GIP will catalyze clean energy innovation worldwide.

Describe the critical need your solution addresses.

The Tahitian Government has shown significant interest in hosting a pilot GIP on the island of Moorea incorporating a pyrolysis system and an anaerobic digestion system to convert municipal solid and green waste into electricity, biofuels and hydrogen.

A public education vehicle promoting the benefits of the GIP model will drive the pilot project from conception to implementation. UC Berkeley has an environmental research facility (Gump Station) in Moorea, and discussions are underway to host an annual GIP sustainability conference at this facility.

The Buckminster Fuller Innovation Grant will be allocated towards the finalizing the Moorea commitment, the building and hosting of a multi-lingual website with technical forums headed by highly regarded authorities, and the creation of interactive educational content promoting the benefits of the GIP model to the greater public, potential partners, state and local policy-makers, and the global investment community.

Remaining funds will contribute to engineering and econometric studies comparing the total cost of the GIP model to existing traditional energy infrastructures. A GIP “calculator” showing the predicted return on GIP technology investments based on waste volumes, electricity costs, and other variables, will also be developed.

GIP will develop media alliances with green-focused entertainment, technological and business publications by providing technology gurus for “green gear-head” content.

GIP will achieve financial self-sufficiency by developing projects for vendors, offering preferred website visibility and traffic access to sponsors, and by pursuing research grants in partnership with academic institutions.

Future plans for GIP include a “Green Island Simulator” which will accurately simulate the behaviors and interaction of GIP model components in real-time economic context. This will allow universities to recruit and train a generation of environmental engineers equipped to implement and innovate within the GIP objective.

GIP will also contribute authorship to IEEE 1547 (standard on micro-grids).

Explain your initiative in more depth and its stage of development.

As the objective of the Buckminster Fuller’s Challenge is to fund focused and immediately deployable “trimtab” projects worldwide, GIP’s current positioning and market timing is unparalleled.

GIP capitalizes on the increasing total cost of fossil fuel and decreasing landfill capacity with waste-to-power technologies. It will build on this initial success with additional scope and functionality by creating jobs and delivering higher levels of resulting environmental stewardship among the general population.

Adding more parts of the model over time, GIP sites will prove to the world that sustainable municipal scale infrastructure is not only an environmental responsibility, it is a profitable opportunity for developers and governments to embrace.

The GIP model, and indeed of the term “Green Island”, will make the benefits of such systems immediately comprehensible and culturally viral.

How does your strategy and approach respond creatively and comprehensively to key issues?

Eco Soul, founded in 1993, is a 501(c)3 with a primary objective to demonstrate sustainable systems that incorporate appropriate renewable technologies (A.R.T)

Skip Staats, Founder Eco Soul has twenty years invested in building alliances to bring the Green Island concept to its current state.

Dr. Tama Copeman, Director of Research. Twelve products were taken to market and Air Products is now widely regarded as a leader in the emerging hydrogen economy. His blend of global economic savvy and scientific rigor will make the Green Island “calculator” a powerful grass-roots informational tool.

Dr. Sammy Gemany, Director of Energy Development, has experience managing the design and build out of municipal scale solar/wind installations, including the engineering force to support them and the purchase and interconnection legal agreements they require.

Conrad Oakey, Director of Web Strategy and PR, is responsible for the market communications of NovaTech, an engineering services firm with expertise in smart grid, process automation, and energy management technologies. His talents at presenting technical material in relevant and compelling messaging and website experiences will make GIP a sought-after green revolution resource.

Valerie Kausen is currently the executive director for Eco Soul bringing more than 20 years of project management, event coordination and business management.