Hawaii’s first major solar farm with batteries is currently producing electricity on Oahu

The primary utility-scale photo voltaic farm on Oahu linked with batteries lately started business energy manufacturing forward of seven comparable tasks slated for completion over the subsequent two years.

Clearway Vitality Group began promoting electrical energy from the 39-megawatt facility in Mililani to utility firm Hawaiian Electrical on July 31, and on Thursday held a ceremony with authorities officers, utility representatives and others to acknowledge the $140 million venture’s completion.

Craig Cornelius, CEO of San Francisco-based Clearway, mentioned in an announcement that the supply of Oahu’s first main photo voltaic and vitality­-storage facility elevates Hawaii’s transition to dependable carbon-free energy.

“We’re proud to assist Hawaii obtain its clear vitality targets and we’re grateful to Hawaiian Electrical, whose partnership has been crucial in reaching this essential milestone,” he mentioned.

The battery system, housed in liquid-cooled instances stacked inside grey steel lockers adjoining to among the greater than 123,000 photovoltaic panels protecting 131 acres of former pineapple plantation land inside Mililani Agricultural Park, permits energy from the venture for use between sundown and dawn.

The batteries additionally permit extra constant supply to {the electrical} grid throughout cloudy daytime durations relying on the variable wants of Hawaiian Electrical.

Totally charged, the batteries at Clearway’s Mililani Photo voltaic I venture are able to supplying the grid with 39 megawatts of energy, which is the manufacturing capability of all of the photo voltaic panels, for 4 hours, or 156 megawatt-­hours in whole.

Shelee Kimura, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electrical, mentioned in an announcement that Mililani Photo voltaic I and upcoming comparable tasks will profit ratepayers by offering electrical energy to the grid at one-third the price of oil whereas additionally transferring Hawaii additional towards a decarbonized vitality system.

Mililani Photo voltaic I is promoting energy to the utility for
9 cents a kilowatt-hour underneath a 20-year settlement.

Rebecca Dayhuff Matsushima, the utility firm’s vice chairman of useful resource procurement, added, “We’re excited that these renewable vitality tasks coming on-line embrace the additional advantage of battery storage, which offers grid stability and extra worth for our prospects.”

Clearway stands to develop into the largest renewable vitality provider within the state as soon as a sister venture to Mili­lani Photo voltaic I, a 36-megawatt
photo voltaic farm paired with a 144-megawatt-hour battery system in Waiawa, is accomplished. The Waiawa venture is anticipated to start working by the top of this 12 months or in early 2023.

The photo voltaic farms with
battery storage characterize a part of the shift to attain the state’s objective of getting 100% energy era from renewable sources by 2045. Additionally as a part of this shift, a 180-megawatt coal-fired energy plant on Oahu owned and operated by AES Corp. is slated for retirement Sept. 1 after 30 years of
operation.

All or practically all of Oahu’s upcoming photo voltaic farm tasks with batteries,
together with Clearway’s Waiawa venture, have suffered delays in improvement as a consequence of points together with issues acquiring elements from China amid coronavirus shutdowns, in addition to allowing setbacks and design difficulties.

John Woody, a Clearway senior vice chairman, mentioned the corporate took steps to speed up development of Mililani Photo voltaic I that included transport tools to Hawaii and ordering panels and batteries exceptionally early.

Even acquiring utility poles for the venture proved to be a problem due to provide points. This problem was overcome, Woody mentioned, when Hawaiian Electrical allowed Clearway to have some
of its personal poles that
Clearway later replenished.

“It was a real partnership with (Hawaiian Electrical) to carry this venture in on time,” he mentioned. “We’re actually dedicated to the state of Hawaii, and we’re strongly aligned with the state’s 100% renewable vitality objective.”

Woody mentioned Clearway is engaged on plans for extra renewable vitality tasks in Hawaii, which might be topic to choice by
Hawaiian Electrical underneath a aggressive proposal course of that additionally requires approval from the state Public Utilities Fee.

Clearway’s robust place within the Hawaii market began with a big foothold it acquired in 2016 in a takeover of present
plans for 3 Oahu photo voltaic farms initiated by one other developer.

These three tasks — a 46-megawatt facility in Waipio, a 49-megawatt
facility in Kawailoa on
the North Shore and a 15-
megawatt facility referred to as Mililani Photo voltaic II, which is positioned subsequent to the latest addition — started working in 2019.

All three have been initiated by First Wind, which beforehand developed a wind farm in Kawailoa. A subsequent developer, SunEdison, acquired the three tasks however bumped into monetary hassle of its personal that led to chapter. Hawaiian Electrical terminated power-purchase agreements held by SunEdison in 2016, which led to
Clearway stepping in and negotiating lower-cost agreements to revive the three tasks.

Collectively, Clearway’s 4 working and one almost-complete photo voltaic farm tasks have a manufacturing capability of 185 megawatts of electrical energy, or sufficient to energy about 45,500 properties every year on Oahu.