Hawaiian Electrical and Ho’āhu Power Cooperative Molokaʻi are transferring ahead with the primary two community-owned and designed photo voltaic plus battery initiatives. These initiatives will meet over 20% of Molokai’s vitality wants and serve roughly 1,500 properties on the island. The Ho’āhu Neighborhood-Primarily based Renewable Power Tasks, Pālā’au Photo voltaic and Kualapu’u Photo voltaic, are the primary on the island to supply a shared photo voltaic program (also referred to as community-based renewable vitality or CBRE) to assist decrease the electrical energy payments for Molokai clients who can not set up personal rooftop photo voltaic.
After finishing a aggressive bidding analysis course of, which accounted for the price of the initiatives in addition to non-price elements together with group outreach, Ho’āhu and Hawaiian Electrical entered into negotiations. As soon as the 20-year contracts are negotiated, Hawaiian Electrical and Ho’āhu will submit two purposes for approval to the Public Utilities Fee.
Hoʻāhu Power Cooperative Molokaʻi is a volunteer, grassroots nonprofit group shaped in 2020 by Molokaʻi group advocates to allow island residents to design and personal renewable vitality initiatives constructed on Molokaʻi.
Hoʻāhu spent three years internet hosting greater than 40 public workshops for Molokaʻi residents to co-design group photo voltaic initiatives, from web site discovering and subscriber profit design to in contractor interviews and evaluation of assorted battery vitality storage techniques.
- Photo voltaic Panels can present as much as 2.2 megawatts of photo voltaic vitality paired with a ten.1 megawatt-hour battery vitality storage system. The venture will likely be situated on property owned by Hawaiian Electrical, adjoining to the corporate’s Pālā’au Baseyard.
- Kualapu’u Photo voltaic can present as much as 0.250 MW paired with a 1 MWh battery. The venture will likely be situated on the Kualapu’u Park and Neighborhood Middle with the venture’s photo voltaic array mounted on carport constructions above the present car parking zone.
“These two initiatives are the appropriate factor to do for Hawai’i and our planet,” stated Todd Yamashita, the president of Hoʻāhu in a joint press launch announcement. “It’ll present entry to renewables for individuals who want it most. Renters on Molokaʻi had been left behind and unable to put in photo voltaic panels. The photo voltaic group says, ‘Allow us to construct a photo voltaic farm for you within the area, and the vitality we get and the revenue we get will likely be immediately credited to your invoice and the invoice of different members of the vitality cooperative.’
After Ho’āhu initiatives are accepted and obtainable on Hawaiian Electrical’s CBRE Portal, Molokaʻi clients will develop into “subscribers” to one of many amenities. As soon as the initiatives are constructed and on-line, subscribers will obtain a credit score on their month-to-month electrical energy invoice based mostly on their degree of participation.
“We sit up for working additional with Ho’āhu Power Cooperative Molokaʻi and their companions to carry these community-based shared photo voltaic initiatives on-line,” stated Rebecca Dayhuff Matsushima, vp of useful resource procurement for Hawaiian Electrical. . “Each initiatives will assist our clients on Moloka’i decrease their vitality payments and additional scale back our carbon footprint in producing energy to fulfill the island’s vitality wants.”
In November 2021, a request for proposals was opened for builders, firms, organizations or teams to develop into “subscriber organizations” in shared photo voltaic initiatives for Molokaʻi clients. The 2 Molokaʻi shared photo voltaic initiatives are anticipated to be on-line by mid-2025.
“When Act 100 was handed in 2015 the intent was to make sure that the advantages of renewable vitality era turned extra accessible to extra residents who might not be immediately concerned in renewable vitality manufacturing. The CBRE program did that and I happy with my dwelling group of Molokaʻi to have the chance to take part by way of the Hoʻāhu Power Cooperative,” stated Sen. Lynn DeCoite. “These initiatives are promising steps towards a sustainable energy-friendly future island.”
Hoʻāhu enlisted the assist of Shake Power Collaborative, a Honolulu-based, women-owned public profit company, to facilitate the design and improvement of community-led initiatives. Hoʻāhu additionally chosen Maui-based profit company Mana Pacific to assist the technical improvement of the initiatives. Many contractors and companions additionally contributed to the success of the cooperative together with Kohala Middle, Morikawa and Associates, Shiny Future Consulting, Orrick, X Utility, and Arizona State College.
Hoʻāhu’s group possession is made attainable by way of the assist of mission-aligned funding companions together with The Folks’s Photo voltaic Power Fund, Hawaii Inexperienced Infrastructure Authority, Inclusive Prosperity Capital, Ulupono Initiative, all of which supplied funds or letters of intent. within the venture.
