The agreement enables the utility to buy renewable energy produced by the proposed 69MW Kawailoa wind project on Oahu’s North Shore.
Under the agreement, Kawailoa Wind Power, a subsidiary of First Wind, will sell as-available renewable energy to Hawaiian Electric at pre-determined prices over 20 years, providing a valuable hedge against fluctuating oil prices.
The Kawailoa Wind project will be developed on former Kawailoa Plantation land, mauka of Kamehameha Highway above Haleiwa, Oahu owned by Kamehameha Schools.
It will employ 30 units Siemens SWT-2.3-101 wind turbine, each able to generate about 2.3MW.
When completed, Kawailoa Wind will be the largest wind energy project in the state, able to generate clean, renewable energy equivalent to that needed to power about 14,500 Oahu homes.
The project is scheduled to begin construction this month and is expected to be operating by the end of 2012.
