June 2008

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That quintessential “Pirate of the Caribbean,” actor Johnny Depp, is joining the solar hydrogen economy as a charter member. A recent undated story in the “Cayman Observer” newspaper on the first house to be built in the Carribbean with Mike Strizki’s solar hydrogen technology (H&FCL Nov.06), mentioned in passing that Depp has signed on with Strizki’s company Renewable Energy International, Inc. (REI), Hopewell, NJ to install the technology in his residence on Depp’s private 35 acre-or-so island, Little Hall’s Pond Cay in the Bahamas (the Observer story referred to it as Little Pond Cay). Strizki says he can’t speak about the project because he signed a non-disclosure agreement with Depp. He did tell H&FCL, though, that he has won building permits from the Cayman Island government for installing his renewable hydrogen fuel cell energy system in a 3,000 sq. ft. home to be built by James Knapp, the second such building in North America (H&FCL July 07); conversion of Strizki’s own New Jersey home to the system was the first. Knapp and Strizki expect to complete construction by the end of the year. Beyond that, Strizki has big plans building up his business because the time, and the cost of energy, is right: He says he has sold five additional projects so far, including installations in Fiji, Australia and two in New York, and he has some 200 additional inquiries. For the Carribbean region, his system is a natural with the cost of power in the region, mostly from diesel generators, as much as three times that of the United States plus 345 days of sunshine and with fuel costs expected to keep rising. Strizki is setting up a store in Cayman, and he looking to raise $4-6 million to expand what he thinks is a viable business now: “It’s a no-brainer,” says Strizki.

Contact: Mike Strizki, phone 609/466-4495, cell 609/731-1990; mstrizki@renewableenergyinternational.com.