Despite this week's slight drop in prices, it seems fairly obvious that the days of cheap oil are far behind us.

That reality puts a solid backdrop behind the exciting news that a 30-megawatt wind farm is up and running on Maui, where it is producing enough power for 11,000 households.

A second 40-megawatt wind farm is under development and when both are running, they will produce 20 percent of Maui's electricity needs.

The Maui experiment demonstrates the importance, and practicality, of moving ahead on alternatives to fossil fuel energy production in these isolated islands.

On much more populous O'ahu, Hawaiian Electric continues to press for wind-generated power. Community opposition stopped a proposed project at Kahe, but the utility continues to look at Kahuku for a wind farm.

The day may be far off when we are independent of imported oil for power generation. But every alternative, from wind farms to perhaps even an ocean wave energy system, will reduce our dependence.

Combined with a much more focused conservation ethic, we can get Hawai'i to the point where we no longer have to nervously watch global oil markets every time we switch on the lights.