Who We Are
Rooted in Hawaii. Built on Trust.
We are a full-spectrum facilities partner led by a team that proudly calls Hawaii home, deeply invested in the communities where we live and work.
Our Origins
Our Story
Obsidian Hawaii was founded by a leadership team that proudly calls Hawaii home. We saw a gap in the market: commercial and industrial system owners needed a single, accountable partner who understood the islands, the climate, the infrastructure, the communities, and not a mainland contractor parachuting in for a project.
Taking inspiration from our name's volcanic origins, we built Obsidian around the qualities of obsidian itself: resilient, grounded, and forged under pressure. That same character defines how we approach every engagement, with precision, accountability, and a long-term commitment to the facilities and communities we serve.
Today, we are Hawaii's full-spectrum facilities partner for commercial and industrial system owners, specializing in solar and BESS O&M, reworks, repowers, commercial electrical, and comprehensive facility management, delivered by a team with deep roots in the islands.
Our Foundation
What Drives Us
Resilience
Like the volcanic stone we're named for, we are built to perform under pressure, delivering consistent, reliable results for Hawaii's most critical infrastructure.
Accountability
We are your single point of contact and responsibility. No handoffs, no gaps, no excuses. When you partner with Obsidian, you have one team answerable for the outcome.
Community
Our leadership lives and works in the communities we serve. Our investment in Hawaii's infrastructure is personal, and we are building the islands we call home.
Precision
Complex, high-value work demands disciplined execution. We bring rigorous processes and technical depth to every project, from routine O&M to full system repowers.
Our Leadership Team
The Team Behind the Work
Obsidian brings together decades of combined field experience in electrical construction, solar operations and maintenance, and commercial operations. Our founders have built crews, run projects, and done the work themselves, so every job gets leadership that knows what it takes in the field.
Dakota Benzel
Co-FounderDakota's career spans commercial and industrial electrical construction, renewable energy, and power generation and distribution. He has progressed from hands-on electrical installation to Electrical Superintendent on major energy infrastructure projects, leading crews of up to 80 people.
His technical experience includes medium- and low-voltage distribution, switchgear and transformers, motor controls and VFDs, and ground-mounted and rooftop PV systems from racking and string wiring through inverters and utility interconnection. He also brings commercial PV O&M experience, industrial automation and PLC-based controls, and commissioning and startup support.
Dakota focuses on executing complex electrical work with safety, quality, and long-term reliability first.
Jacob Rapp
Co-FounderJacob comes from construction and solar O&M. He started as an apprentice solar technician and became a lead technician within a year. His field work covers preventive maintenance, communications troubleshooting, string- and module-level diagnostics, thermal and I-V curve testing, and manufacturer warranty claims, plus larger corrective projects such as site-wide remediation and full system removal and reinstallation for reroofs.
He has helped launch solar service operations in Hawaii and the Midwest. In both, he built the client base, did the fieldwork, hired teams, and managed estimating, scheduling, crew support, and projects through invoicing.
He has also owned and run a construction company specializing in commercial renovations and tenant fit-outs.
Keegan Shrum
PartnerKeegan leads Obsidian's commercial operations and client relationships. His background covers every stage of a solar asset's life, from overnight monitoring of nearly 1 GW of utility-scale solar at a NERC-certified operations center, to commercial portfolio management, to project finance.
As the sole operator on an 86-site, 54 MW national commercial fleet, he raised performance from under 30% to above 90% in less than a year. Along the way he directed about $4M in first-year spend, including $2.5M in corrective maintenance across 407 site visits and a $1.5M monitoring retrofit he originated from field assessments.
Earlier, he carried a $6M+ tax-equity financing through close and managed $7M+ in construction draws across a 23-site commercial portfolio. Keegan has worked on the asset owner's side of the table, so he knows what clients expect from their O&M provider and how to deliver it.
Ready to Work Together?
Let's talk about your facility and how Obsidian Hawaii can become your long-term partner.