Multiple sources report that Hawaiian Electric has submitted an application to the state Public Utilities Commission to purchase electricity from the proposed Pulehu Solar project on Maui. The scaled-back plan calls for a 20-megawatt solar farm with battery storage on land near Kula, replacing a larger project previously abandoned by another developer. If approved, the project would modestly increase residential electric bills while advancing Hawaii’s 2045 renewable energy goal.
- Hawaiian Electric filed a power purchase agreement application with the state Public Utilities Commission to buy electricity from the Pulehu Solar project, developed by an affiliate of Virginia-based AES Corp.
- The project is a scaled-back version after Massachusetts-based Longroad Energy abandoned a larger earlier proposal.
- The planned facility would be a 20-megawatt solar farm with 80 megawatt-hours of battery energy storage.
- The site would occupy 370 acres of pasture land at Haleakala Ranch, approximately three miles makai of Kula off Pulehu Road.
- A typical Maui residential customer using 500 kWh/month would pay an estimated $4.49 more per month for 20 years under the fixed-price contract.
- Hawaiian Electric noted the cost estimate is conservative and could end up lower.
- The project is expected to generate enough clean energy annually to power the equivalent of nearly 10,000 Maui households.
- Hawaiian Electric VP Brendan Bailey stated the project would reduce Maui’s exposure to imported fuel price volatility. (Yahoo)
Sources
- Honolulu Star-Advertiser: Plans for Maui solar farm move forward
- Yahoo: Plans for Maui solar farm move forward
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