The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (HPUC) has approved a new solar-plus-battery project on Maui. The greenlighting of the project was announced by the state’s main utility Hawaii Electric via a press release on October 7. The solar array of the project will have a generation capacity of 15MW, while the energy storage facility of the project will have a storage capacity of 60MWh.
Known as Paeahu Solar, the project began as part of a tender for green power issued by Hawaii Electric in 2018 and is being developed by Canadian renewable energy firm Innergex. The site of the solar array and energy storage facility covers around 200 acres and is leased from Ulupalakua Ranch, which is located in Southern Maui. The review process of the project was prolonged due to some local opposition. According to the press release from Hawaii Electric, Paeahu Solar is scheduled to enter operation in 2023 and has enough capacity to meet the annual demand of around 6,900 local households.
Hawaii Electric has entered a 25-year PPA with Innergex to purchase power from Paeahu Solar. The utility says that the rate, which is US$0.12/kWh, is on par with the rates of other solar-plus-battery projects in Maui, Oahu, and Hawai’i. Furthermore, the utility forecasts that once the project comes online, its residential customers will see a reduction of as much as US$3 in their monthly electricity bill. Although solar PV is expected to produce power at a low cost in Hawaii, there are concerns that the lock-in rate of a PPA could be detrimental to the interest of end users for many years to come.
The same press release also reveals that HPUC has also approved AES Kuihelani, which is another battery-plus-storage project. Situated in Central Maui, AES Kuihelani is designed to provide 60MW of generation and 240MWh of storage. Maui has two more similar projects that are respectively led by Innergex and Longroad Development. Their contracts are still under review.
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