These are the times the committed energy conservation community has been waiting for.

Oil approaching $80 a barrel and gasoline inching toward $4 a gallon. Investors lining up to put cash into ethanol plants. Solar photovoltaic panel plants unable to keep up with demand. Wind energy fields popping up on Isle hillsides. A town in New Hampshire discussing creating all its energy from local non-petroleum resources.

As conservation and alternative energy move into the mainstream, there might be a little nostalgia — and perhaps a little worry — on the part of the old energy warriors. Those are the folks who went out in public wearing pith helmets fitted with tiny solar panels and fans, who bragged about their tiny cars' fuel efficiency, who rode bikes to work, who were early believers in the threat of global warming.

But change has come. Canada just announced it is the 12th nation to surpass 1,000 megawatts of wind energy infrastructure, and it's shooting for 10,000 megawatts in the next half decade. In Hawai'i, mainly on Maui and the Big Island, wind energy plants are generating 46 megawatts of power, and with those planned, the number soon could reach 102 megawatts, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Ethanol production in the Islands appears to be undergoing some fits and starts, but more than 40 million gallons of production is proposed in plants on Maui, O'ahu and Kaua'i. If they all are built, they should just about provide enough locally produced ethanol to supply the 10-percent mix required in Hawai'i gasoline.

On top of that, there is talk of utilities using ethanol to fuel electric power plants.

This past Legislature increased tax credits for alternative energy projects. With all the excitement over these new sources of energy, a couple of issues arise. The new energy players all appear to be taking hold because people believe the age of cheap oil may be over. The new sources make economic sense because while they've always been costly, oil has caught up in price.

Thus, if oil supplies dwindle, as some suggest, there will be alternatives. But not cheaper alternatives.

For the old-timers in the energy conservation field, all the excitement is a little disconcerting. Their old mantra still rings true: while alternatives to fossil fuels are needed, the cheapest form of energy is still conservation — whether through energy efficient devices and cars, or simply using less.

If you have a question or concern about the Hawaiian environment, drop a note to Jan TenBruggencate at P.O. Box 524, Lihu'e, HI 96766 or jant@honoluluadvertiser.com. Or call him at (808) 245-3074.