Honolulu: Sixteen solar-plus-storage or standalone storage projects on three islands have been selected in the latest phase of Hawaiian Electric’s transition to using 100 percent renewable energy to generate electricity by 2045.
The projects, announced May 11 after a competitive evaluation that was part of the largest renewable energy procurement ever undertaken in Hawaii, could produce 460 megawatts of solar energy and nearly 3 gigawatt-hours of energy storage on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island. That would increase the total solar megawatts on the Hawaiian Electric system by more than 50 percent.
Hawaiian Electric will now enter contract negotiations with the developers, who will begin outreach to the communities where they plan to build. The sizes and locations of the projects were to be made public in 30 days or sooner if some developers start their community engagement efforts immediately. All contracts must be approved by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
A sample of the number and range of renewables and storage projects underway on just one of the Hawaiian islands. From Hawaiian Electric’s 2019-2020 sustainability report.
The projects are:
• On Oahu, eight solar-plus-storage projects and one standalone storage project totaling approximately 287 MW of generation and 1.8 GWh of storage
• On Maui Island, three solar-plus-storage projects and one standalone storage project totaling approximately 100 MW of generation and 560 MWh of storage
• On Hawaii Island, two solar-plus-storage projects and one standalone storage project totaling approximately 72 MW of generation and 492 MWh of storage.
Proposals for Molokai and Lanai have later deadlines than for the other islands. Information for those islands will be released this summer.
The sixteen projects include two by Innergex. See “Innergex building solar+storage in Hawaii,” also in this issue.