New solar farm with energy storage operational in Waiawa

Jan. 16—One other utility-scale photo voltaic power farm with battery storage is now working on Oahu, producing sufficient comparatively low cost electrical energy to energy almost 7,600 properties yearly.

One other utility-scale photo voltaic power farm with battery storage is now working on Oahu, producing sufficient comparatively low cost electrical energy to energy about 7,600 properties a yr.

The $150 million undertaking developed by San Francisco-based Clearway Power Group just lately started industrial energy manufacturing on 180 acres of Waiawa land leased from Kamehameha Faculties.

The 36-megawatt facility produces electrical energy that’s offered to Hawaiian Electrical on Oahu for about half the price of electrical energy from fossil fuels.

The battery system is ready to provide the grid with 36 megawatts of energy in 4 hours, or 144 megawatt-hours in whole. The electrical energy from the batteries permits for a extra constant provide to {the electrical} grid throughout cloudy durations of the day, and helps to fulfill completely different wants at different occasions, together with in the midst of sundown. and dawn.

Governor Josh Inexperienced in a press release referred to as the undertaking an necessary addition to Oahu’s rising portfolio of lower-cost renewable power manufacturing.

“Clear power is best for our air, our well being, and our price of residing,” he stated. “We commend Clearway Power Group and their companions for his or her continued contributions to offering clear power at a worth decrease than fossil-fuel alternate options.”

The undertaking is Clearway’s fifth utility-scale photo voltaic farm, and second with batteries, on Oahu. The primary with batteries, a 39-megawatt facility in Mililani, went on-line in July.

Clearway, which started building on the Waiawa undertaking in early 2021, introduced the standing of economic operations on Thursday after a testing and commissioning interval.

Photo voltaic farms with battery storage characterize a part of a transition to succeed in the state’s objective of getting 100% electrical energy technology from renewable sources by 2045.

“We’re proud to assist Hawaii obtain its local weather targets and spend money on renewable power within the state,” Craig Cornelius, CEO of Clearway, stated in a press release. “We’re very grateful for the collaboration with our companions Hawaiian Electrical and Kamehameha Faculties who’re serving to make these targets come true.”

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Shelee Kimura, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electrical, expects six related initiatives on Oahu to come back on-line within the subsequent two years.

“Stabilizing power prices for our clients is a precedence, and initiatives like Waiawa Photo voltaic will feed electrical energy into the grid at about half the price of oil,” he stated in a press release.

Along with energy manufacturing, the Waiawa undertaking will contribute $200,000 in neighborhood advantages over a number of years, together with an academic partnership with the Blue Planet Basis and an annual mainland internship program for Kamehameha Faculties college students.