To get away from fossil fuels, all you have to do is put everything on the grid and then power the grid with fossil-free energy. That way you use the existing infrastructure and the transition is a lot easier, assuming that Hawaiian Electric Co. opens up the grid to fossil-free sources and contributors.

The missing piece is vehicular transportation. It's not on the grid. So how do we get cars plugged into the grid to implement this strategy?

The answer is electric cars. With them, we can be ready for HECO's transition.

TESLA ROADSTER IS PROOF OF CONCEPT

The Tesla Roadster is a leader. It's a Silicon Valley electric, fittingly named after Nikola Tesla, a 19th-century physicist, and very high tech.

Listen to these specs: speed 125 mph, range of 221 miles, zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and charging time of 3.5 hours. The cost of powering the vehicle is estimated at $.02 per mile. Other electrics don't come close.

It's a lovely car. Despite the price of $109,000, 1,000 people have reserved one. They're also taking reservations in Europe. The car is in production and will roll out in numbers by year's end.

For the moment, I'm sure Tesla (www.teslamotors.com) will sell every car it can make.

Things are speeding up. Tesla will also go into production on a $49,000 plug-in sedan next year. Nissan will market plug-ins in Japan and the U.S. in 2010. Venture partners Renault-Nissan will market plug-ins in Portugal, Denmark and Israel in 2011, and then globally in 2012.

And there are lots more plug-ins in the pipeline, some exciting, some not.

THE OTHER PROBLEM —CHARGING ON THE ROAD

Let's assume that other worthy plug-ins will soon catch up with Tesla's impressive range and charge time and that all plug-ins will ultimately have those capabilities or better. But even then, you could wind up with an empty battery far from where you can plug in.

Not so good.

Tesla is addressing this in part by putting solar panels on the roof of its sedan to maintain a charge. What a great idea. Other plug-ins have small motors of one kind or another for the same purpose. This will all settle down soon enough and one backup system will emerge as best.

But solar panels and small motors are still not enough to save you when you go empty on the road. Although plug-ins don't use power when you're stuck in traffic, and although there's an indicator on the dash to tell you when you're running low, to make plug-ins marketworthy we still need a way to recharge or switch batteries when we're away from home.

ENTER ISRAEL, A COUNTRY WITH NO OIL

Project Better Places, an Israeli company also based in Palo Alto, is working with partners Renault-Nissan to market plug-ins in Denmark and Israel. It has organized incentive parking for plug-ins, and has designated parking lots and other locations for battery recharging and exchange stations.

It's a great solution. These locations are easier to operate than gas stations. All you need is a place for the chargers and extra batteries. It could be virtually anywhere. That's how they're doing it in Denmark and Israel, and that has every indication of bringing transportation to the grid, thus dramatically reducing fossil fuel dependency in those countries.

The Israelis were here in May and proposed the same kind of project for Hawai'i. They had done their homework and showed that Tel Aviv and Honolulu are strikingly similar and appropriate for such a project, and that what they are doing in Denmark and Israel is also doable here.

WHO SHOULD BE FOLLOWING UP

What an exciting prospect for us. Surely somebody in Hawai'i should follow up. But 60 days have gone by, and as far as we can tell nothing has happened. Unless we follow up, this is likely to be the end of it.

We can't wait on government. HECO should spearhead the project — it has the power and a bank. Local investors such as the Employees' Retirement System, Kamehameha Schools and local angels should step up — it's their opportunity and arguably their obligation.

Local captains of industry and entrepreneurs should jump right in — they have the organizational skills. The gas companies should be interested — they have great locations. And wouldn't the car dealers want to be involved?

A broad coalition could make it happen. But right now the opportunity is wasting with time. With all the talk, what is it about us that we cannot move to action, even when the needs and benefits are so obvious? Do we not care? Do we not believe in ourselves or our future? Are we unwilling to bear the risks of collaboration or the possibility of failure?

Doesn't this opportunity deserve our attention? The stakes are high. Perhaps on this one occasion we can find a way to get together.

Jay Fidell is a business lawyer practicing in Honolulu. He has followed tech and tech policy closely and is a founder of ThinkTech Hawaii. Check out his blog at www.HonoluluAdvertiser.com/Blogs