Its founder, Henk Rogers, looks to replace it with his more globally minded “Blue Planet Alliance.” The Honolulu-based clean energy nonprofit Blue Planet Foundation is being phased out after some 17 years of pushing for renewable energy reforms in Hawaii, according to its founder and chairman, Henk Rogers. In its place, Rogers says he intends to relocate his similar but more internationally focused New York-based venture, Blue Planet Alliance , to Honolulu by October.
Blue Planet Foundation played a key role in setting Hawaii on an ambitious path to fully ditch fossil fuel energy sources for wind, solar and other renewable sources by 2045. At the time, that energy goal was the most ambitious in the nation , and it helped pave the way for larger and more populous states such as California to follow suit . The island state now boasts the most rooftop solar in the country on a per-capita basis.
However, in recent years the local think tank has struggled to find more of the individual donors needed to replace Rogers as he diverted more of his dollars to Blue Planet Alliance, he said last week. “My idea was I would start the foundation and when I moved on other parties would take over and fund Blue Planet Foundation,” said Rogers, a local philanthropist and entrepreneur who controls rights to the popular video game Tetris. The problem with naming the Honolulu entity Blue Planet Foundation, however, was that “everyone thinks they give away money” like a typical foundati.