Fueling up on sunflowers with Pacific Biodiesel

Summer is in full swing, and sunflowers in Hawaii are thriving! As bright yellow fields bloom across our state and people visit for the cutest photo ops (opportunities), leaders in the clean energy industry have also been turning to sunflowers for new ways to generate power.

In the past, researchers innovated solar panel technology by mimicking the heliotropic behavior of sunflowers; just as sunflowers follow the sun’s path across the sky, some solar panels can now open at sunrise, track the sun throughout the day, and close at sunset, capturing more sunlight compared to traditional static solar panels. The spiral pattern formed by the florets on the face of sunflowers — known as Fermat’s spiral — also inspired how researchers arrange mirrors at some concentrated solar plants to focus the sun’s rays on a central tower, optimizing power generation.

In Hawaii, Pacific Biodiesel introduced a creative way to source clean energy straight from sunflowers. Founded on Maui in 1995, Pacific Biodiesel produces 6 million gallons of biodiesel made from used cooking oil and local crops each year, all of which stays in Hawaii to power off-road equipment, fuel some of our state’s vehicles, and generate electricity! The company has even pioneered renewable energy solutions by converting sunflowers into biodiesel, and Hawaiian Electric has partnered with them as part of our ongoing efforts to achieve the state’s goal of using 100% clean energy by 2045.

On Tuesday, June 24, 2025, the Pacific Biodiesel team, along with a few of our company’s leaders, including Mike DeCaprio, vice president of power supply, and Nicholas Paslay, director of fuels, came together to commemorate the first shipment of sunflower biodiesel to our Schofield Generating Station on Oahu. I enjoyed being able to witness a new step forward in leveraging our local resources for clean energy while learning more about the biodiesel process, from harvest to generation.

Every 100 days or so, when the sunflowers in their field on Kauai dry up, Pacific Biodiesel cuts them down and harvests the hundreds of seeds in each sunflower head (leftover parts of the sunflowers are used for local livestock feed). The seeds are then taken to a mechanical crushing mill and converted into oil, which Pacific Biodiesel gives to its clients in the food services industry for culinary purposes. Once used, Pacific Biodiesel recycles the oil into biodiesel at its refinery on Hawaii Island through transesterification–a chemical reaction process in which the triglycerides in the cooking oil are converted into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). FAMEs are a crucial component of biodiesel production because they improve the fuel’s properties and make them safer for using in engines and equipment.

After the biodiesel truck arrived at our Schofield Generating Station, it was hooked up to the fuel tank for processing. The station already heavily runs on biodiesel, but this was the first time it had ever used biodiesel that was 100% sourced from locally grown crops! Like petroleum diesel, the sunflower biodiesel was burned to create steam, which generates electricity. Although the station is in Wahiawa, it can power every area on Oahu connected to our electric grid. Thus, if you live on the island, part of your day might have been powered by sunflowers!

While our current inventory of sunflower biodiesel may not be sufficient to power our entire island at once, Pacific Biodiesel is continuing its efforts to expand. The new clean energy alternative has the potential to play a significant role in creating a more sustainable, self-reliant Hawaii.

In the future, our partnership with Pacific Biodiesel could also help us reach our goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2045. When used as biodiesel, sunflower oil releases less greenhouse gases than petroleum diesel, making it an appealing option to help offset our carbon emissions.

Overall, it was exciting to learn more about one of the many initiatives that our company is taking to integrate clean energy into our electric grid. I look forward to the growth of Hawaii’s clean energy solutions and all the creative ways in which researchers may source energy from sunflowers in the future! In the meantime, check out our clean energy portfolio to learn more about our other clean energy initiatives and keep track of our various projects in the works.