Three PV Projects With 110 MW Capacity Online In Hawaii

• With the grid connection of three solar power plants with 110 MW capacity, Hawaii now has the largest block of grid scale solar power ever developed here
• Out of the three plants, 49 MW Kawailoa Solar Project is the state's largest operational PV plant till date
• Other two projects are 45.9 MW Waipio Solar Project and 14.7 MW Mililani Solar II

Clearway Energy Group, California headquartered clean energy company, has completed and commissioned three solar PV plants with a cumulative capacity of 110 MW in Hawaii. They were connected to the grid on the island of Oahu with the help of EPC services provider Moss Solar. The projects are the 'largest' block of grid scale solar power ever developed in Hawaii, claimed Clearway and Hawaiian Electric Company.

Originally proposed by now insolvent SunEdison, the three projects were finally developed by Clearway after the company and Hawaiian Electric renegotiated lower prices for the projects projects.

The three PV plants are:

• 49 MW Kawailoa Solar Project – the largest solar project in the state till date,
• 45.9 MW Waipio Solar Project in Central Oahu, and
• 14.7 MW Mililani Solar II within Mililani Agricultural Park

They will deliver 'low-cost' renewable energy for about 18,000 Oahu homes annually.

Hawaii is pursuing 100% renewable energy to be achieved by 2045 while Hawaiian Electric is targeting its own 100% goal by 2040. The utility issued a request for proposals round for 900 MW renewable energy and grid services from customer-sited distributed energy resources in August 2019 (see Hawaiian Electric Launches RFP For 900 MW RE).

Hawaii also made news last week when Sunrun bagged a deal to deploy around 1,000 Brightbox home battery systems in Oahu Island as one among the largest residential virtual power plants globally under a grid services agreement with Open Access Technology International (see Sunrun Bags Virtual Power Plant Deal In Hawaii).