It's critical that Hawai'i strive to reach its ambitious goals for reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and it will take much more than sheer resolve to get there.

It will take strong partnerships, and there few allies with greater potential to assist in this campaign than the military based in the Islands.

That's why the agreement that the U.S. Pacific Command is on the brink of formalizing with the state is such a bright spot on a dismal landscape of budget shortages and diminished expectations for state programs.

The command is about to sign off on supporting the Hawai'i Clean Energy Initiative and a commitment to meet or exceed the initiative's target: getting 70 percent of energy from renewable sources by the year 2030.

What's driving Hawai'i to reach that high bar is sheer survival instinct: The state gets about 90 percent of its energy from imported petroleum products. And our geographic isolation means there are no workarounds in case of an energy crisis, and Hawai'i simply can't afford to be so dependent on a commodity with prices as volatile as oil.

The military has parallel concerns. Defense agencies want to curb reliance on foreign oil for national security reasons.

The Department of Defense has its own campaign well under way, with multiple photovoltaic installations and wave-energy generation testing.

Also, a hydrogen plant is under consideration for the Kane'ohe Marine base and the Air Force has plans for vehicles at Hickam Air Force Base powered with hydrogen produced by wind and solar energy.

In addition to what the state can learn from such federally funded tests, it may have a willing partner for siting transmission stations for a Kahuku wind farm and the transmission cable linking Neighbor Island wind energy plants with O'ahu.

This state-federal pairing is a fortuitous match to help the Islands meet a key sustainability goal. Isle government leaders need to ensure that the separate and joint projects have support; their success will bolster the state's position in seeking private partners it also needs.

Such teamwork is essential if Hawai'i wants to have the standing as a serious player, one positioned to win at the renewable energy game.