GridZero Founder shares details of his West Maui Resilience Center project objectives.
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Founder/President/CEO Peter Ortmann shares more about GridZero's history and vision.
West Maui Resilience Center: The Legacy Project
Words cannot fully describe the magnitude of the destruction caused by the wildfire disaster that devastated historic Lahaina Town in West Maui, Hawaii in August 2023. The fast spreading wildfire claimed over 100 lives, destroyed 2,100 homes and businesses leaving more than 6,000 residents homelessIn, and many without jobs. In
response to the devastation, & help to rebuild the community and tourist economy, our Founder, a former resident of Lahaina who sailed out of the Lahaina Harbor in the 80's, and planned to retire there one day, had an innovative idea.
The Shark looked to the future of West Maui, its remote location and long-term survival in a very turbulent world of growing unrest, food, water and energy shortages. To address those issues he set out to design a solution called the West Maui Resilience Center (WMRC) - an estimated $250 million proposed off-grid, climate-resilient farming and eco-tourism development set to open in June 2028 (subject to funding and approval). In researching the Maui County Recovery and long term resilience plan, we feel our project will be well received by locals, federal, state, and local agencies.
The conceptual site rendering developed by GridZero seen here, and in more detail and description of businesses by clicking here It is set on a 70+ acre proposed land parcel, which is owned by the Hawaiian Land Trust, land reserved exclusively for native Hawaiians. As a result, this land will likely not be available to us for this project.
The collective project is rooted in the Aloha Spirit and being proposed in response to helping Lahaina and West Maui recover. To restore local self-reliance, protect island ecosystems, and create a model of climate resilience that serves both the people of west Maui and our planet.
With that in mind, we have several alternate sites under consideration in West Maui. We have our eye on a 500 acre State of Hawaii parcel that we hope to negotiate for an expanded version of our Project.
The project will blend agriculture, innovation, education, and hospitality together to provide lasting jobs, sustainable nourishment, and hope for future generations. It is where food, water, power and people come together for the benefit of the common good.
The West Maui Resilience Center will:
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generate over 140 MW/hd of power daily from 1,490,000 SF of solar roof panels, 1,200 Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) for power generation at night when wind blows, and 100 Smartflower solar sun-tracking systems.
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offer a retail Farmers Market that features other Maui growers, artists and products,
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Power a 48 station EVPlugHUB - fast EV charging, with drive through KaffeLUA Cafe
Maui AgriVoltatic Fruit & Veggie Farms, (Maui AgriVoltaic) is a division of the AngelPreneur Venture Group of Hawaii, who will operate a series of diversified open air citrus groves and produce farms set under over up to 600,000 square feet (10 x 60,000 sf each) of bifacial solar generating canopies. The power generated is used to make water from humidity and operate the onsite vertical indoor farms and other operations.
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Types of Crop production possible under a 60,000 SF canopy:
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Offices, processing and packaging
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2 story – lower floor watermelon, micro-greens, upper floor tomatoes, peppers, assorted berries
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Avocados, Bananas, Lemons, Limes Oranges Grapefruit, Papayas, coffee, and more
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Vine Produce, tomatoes, peppers
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3,000 Free Range Chicken Egg Facility
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Depending on the actual project size we will incorporate a 120,000 - up to 200,000 Gallon-per-Day (GPD) Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) water-making plant to address the lack of clean water issues oin west Maui. The site will incorporate a solar and wind turbine energy farm to produce up to 140 MegaWatts of power daily to make the entire project, including all housing units and operations independent from the local grid. In fact surplus water and power will be offered for sale into the grid whenever possible.
The above are merely samples of citrus and produce that can be grown under a canopy.
Although farming will incorporate over 40 to 60 acres of the final site, the West Maui Resilience Center will feature many additional for-profit and non-profit businesses working together to collectively create over 600 diversified long-term jobs. For more details about these companies, and initiatives, click here.
The AngelPreneur Web Series, Book & Podcast
The entire journey of the broader GridZeros' Venture Fund Biz launches, but more importantly the West Maui Resilience Center - our Founder's "Dream" project, all development, construction and it opening—will be documented through The AngelPreneur: Building the Dream in Real Time, an unscripted web series, This series will follow the real-time development showcasing
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Real people launching real businesses
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The ups and downs of socially responsible entrepreneurship
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The growth of GridZero's five Venture Fund companies,
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West Maui Resilience Center & Aquarium Plaza
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Behind-the-scenes footage, strategy sessions, and stories
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The AngelPreneur Books & Podcast
How This Project Will Be Funded
The AngelPreneur Venture Group (APVG) is the owner of this proposed project, and funding for this large scale $120+ million development will come in various stages. Initially design, land acquisition cost and site development work will be paid directly by GridZero from its 25% share of the ClubZERO Rewards monthly membership dues allocated to the GridZero Venture Fund. Additional funding will come from APVG and the CBO Foundation.
Some elements of the project - like the AgriVoltaic farming will likely receive state and federal grants to help offset costs, while the Island Palms employee housing project will come from more traditional financing. The HumidaPURE AirWater plant may be built as a stand-alone company and funded by APVG, while the Tropical Reef Research & Conservation Center will be funded by the CBO Foundation.
The Aquarium Plaza will be funded from a share of ClubZERO dues APVG and CBO Foundation will receive, and through VC backed or bank loans. Hopefully also from the proceeds of acquisitions or IPO's that GridZero receives from its Venture Fund companies, which will be used to pay off debt to allow for the Maui AgriVoltaic project to operate debt-fr. ee soon after it is completed. The Founders custom residence shown in the above site plan rendering will be paid for by him.
Why Maui, Hawaii
Our Founder has wanted to retire in Lahaina Maui one day ever since first landing there in the 80's, where he lived for a short time back then. Life often got in his way, and it seemed more like a dream than a possibility.
However, the Lahaina wildfires in 2023 caused him to rethink merely retiring there, but how he could contribute to west Maui's rebuilding. Utilizing his design/build skills and current GridZero business focus, he developed this project as the ultimate retirement project. One that helps West Maui long-term, and his objectives well. The videos below share the beauty of the Island of Maui. Maui Visitor Guide
Looking Ahead
We have a lot of work ahead, and 2025 will be a pivotal year. As we continue preparing for launching our GridZero Venture Fund companies, building and launching ClubZERO, and its membership site. We're updating all our project pages throughout June 2025. Stay connected. Watch us build. And join us on a mission to redefine what legacy entrepreneurship looks like,