Hawaiian Electric issues RFPs for renewable energy, storage projects

The Hawaiian Electric Companies, subsidiaries of Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., issued requests for proposals (RFPs) to procure about 900 megawatts of renewable energy and energy storage.

It is one of the largest single renewable energy procurements undertaken by a U.S. utility and is in line with the state’s plan to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.

“Hawaiian Electric has made huge strides toward our renewable energy goals and will end this year achieving a renewable generation portfolio of 30 percent,” Alan Oshima, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric, said. “This effort is a big step in accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to locally-sourced clean energy resources. For customers, the benefits are simple: cleaner energy at lower prices.”

The RFPs, approved by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC), targets 594 MW of solar for O’ahu, 135 MW for Maui and up to 203 MW for Hawai’i Island. All projects for Maui must include energy storage. On Hawai’i Island, solar projects must include storage, but others are optional. On O’ahu, it is optional to pair generation with energy storage.

Also on O’ahu, new renewable generation and storage are needed to replace the 180-megawatt coal-fired AES Hawaii plant in Campbell Industrial Park, which will close by September 2022. On Maui, new renewable generation and storage are needed for the planned retirement of Kahului Power Plant by the end of 2024.

The RFPs were issued on Aug. 22 and are due by Nov. 5 at 2 pm HST. Awards will be made in May 2020 with work beginning after that.