The selected projects are expected to increase Hawaiian Electric’s solar capacity by more than 50%
The first of the selected solar and storage projects is expected to come online in 2022. (Credit: Pixabay/Martin Pieske.)
Hawaiian Electric has selected 16 solar plus storage and standalone storage projects, as part of its latest renewable energy procurement.
The selected solar projects will have a generating capacity of 460MW, while energy storage projects will have 3GWh capacity.
The projects will be built on Hawaii’s three islands of Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island and are part of Hawaiian Electric’s transition to generate 100% renewable energy by 2045.
When completed, the solar plus storage projects will increase the total solar capacity of Hawaiian Electric by more than 50%.
Hawaii’s Public Utilities Commission needs to approve the 16 projects
All the contracts can proceed forward only after receiving approval from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
On Oahu, eight solar plus storage projects and one standalone storage project, totalling nearly 287MW and 1.8GWh will be built.
On Maui Island, three solar plus storage projects and one standalone storage project, totaling nearly 100MW in power generation and 560MWh of storage will be constructed.
On Hawaii Island, two solar plus storage projects and one standalone storage project, totaling 72MW in power generation and 492MWh of storage will be developed.
Hawaiian Electric business development and strategic planning senior vice president Jim Alberts said: “We went big with the scope of this request for proposals to see what the renewable energy market would support and to ensure lots of competition.
“The projects chosen provide the best opportunity for customer savings and realistic timelines for completion so we can keep our clean energy transition on track.”
Two projects proposed by Hawaiian Electric were also selected. The projects include a 40MW solar generation with 160MWh standalone energy storage system on Maui and a 12MW generation and 12MWh storage system on Hawaii Island.
The utility expects that the first of the projects will be operational in 2022, depending on the length of the economic disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.