Largest solar farm in Hawaii on track for operation in December
News release from HECO
HONOLULU, Oct. 21, 2016 - Tens of thousands of photovoltaic panels have been installed on the state's largest solar energy facility, putting the project on track to go into commercial operation by Dec. 15.
The 27.6-megawatt Waianae Solar Project is being developed by Eurus Energy America (Toyota and Tokyo Electric) on approximately 200 acres of land in West Oahu. The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission last year approved a contract for Eurus to sell power to Hawaiian Electric, and the project broke ground earlier this year in March.
Once complete, Eurus will own and operate the project and will sell energy to Hawaiian Electric at a rate of about 14.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, making it one of the state's lowest-cost renewable energy projects.
(NOTE: Only 8 states have RETAIL rates higher than the 0.145 per kwh WHOLESALE rate HECO is touting here as if it were a good price for erratic electricity.)
The Hawaiian Electric Companies are national leaders in the integration of renewable energy on their island grids, using renewables to generate more than 23 percent of their electricity in 2015. Other significant projects that have been launched or are underway include:
- A 1-MW battery energy storage system at Campbell Industrial Park
- A proposed 20-MW solar farm at Joint Base Pearl-Harbor Hickam, West Loch Annex
- More than 60 additional utility-scale solar projects across Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii Island with a combined capacity of nearly 40 megawatts
- The 24-MW Na Pua Makani wind farm in Kahuku
- The 50-MW biofuel-capable Schofield Generation Station
- Ongoing approvals of rooftop PV systems, including a new wave of systems that incorporate energy storage. To date, nearly 79,000 rooftop PV systems have been approved
- Two 2.87-MW solar farms on Maui being developed by Kuia Solar and South Maui Renewable Resources
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