This can be a daunting task in a world so dependent on foreign oil sources. But with energy costs continuing to soar at an alarming rate, Kimura knows that now is the time for everyone to go green. Kimura has been ahead of his time in many ways, establishing Energy Industries at the age of 19 while on summer break from college. Fourteen years later, the energy solutions company is on the cutting edge of renewable energy research and engineering, with 12 offices and more than 100 employees in the U.S. and Philippines.

It is this dedication to innovation, leadership and growth that has earned Energy Industries this year’s 2007 Tech Company of the Year Award by the Pacific Technology Foundation — a recognition Kimura refers to as a “massive win.”

"We focus on being a full energy service provider. We will do the engineering, the installation and monitoring. No place else in Hawaii and virtually no place else in the world can offer a service like that. We’ve been around for a long time and this award really shows how we’ve been able to grow and be dynamic and stay alive during times when the industry was bad," he says. "There are a lot of other companies that have come and gone over the years. Our team is willing and able to improvise and focus on what we’re trying to do."

Strong focus has propelled Energy Industries past the years when people didn’t “care about energy,” says Kimura, who was born and raised in Hilo.

"I started that company so young and it’s difficult because a lot of people don’t trust you because you’re too young."

What he learned to deal with early on was rejection, he says.

"Here I was preaching about global warming and efficiency and air pollution and people were saying, ‘You’re nuts, Kimura!’ That first year, I worked out of the trunk of my car and I probably had an 80 percent failure rate. But I really liked the idea of doing something where I could solve a problem and not just something where I could make money."

Kimura, who got the inspiration to start Energy Industries from his father, a contractor, took the rejection of his early business years and turned into something he could build on.

"Ten years ago, people would waste air conditioning and leave their computers on at night,” he explains. “It’s a very different perspective and a very different type of consumer now."

Energy Industries, which has won multiple awards for its innovative approaches, has become Hawaii’s one-stop shop for energy, helping businesses save money on their electric bills by conserving.

"We offer more than 100 kinds of services," says Kimura, who studied business at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and electrical engineering at Portland State University. "We focus on being a full energy service provider. We will do the engineering, the installation and monitoring. No place else in Hawaii and virtually no place else in the world can offer a service like that."