Hawaiian Electric eyes small island properties to fuel transition to clean energy

Hawaiian Electric announced plans this week to seek information from owners of land or even large rooftops and parking lots on the islands of Oahu, Hawaii Island, Maui, and Molokai to jumpstart a transition to clean energy and aid in economic recovery.

Parcels as small as one acre and rooftops with at least 3,200 square feet of usable space are of interest to the company, which intends to develop them for grid-scale solar and wind projects, as well as community solar projects.

“Space is essential for developing renewable energy, and obviously it’s at a premium in Hawaii. That’s why we’ll need to use both open land and as many rooftops as available to reach our goals,” said Jim Alberts, senior vice president of strategic planning and business development for Hawaiian Electric. “This could also aid economic recovery by providing income opportunities for land and building owners, by creating jobs and by lowering electric bills. By identifying potential sites, we hope to speed the process for both owners and prospective developers so these projects can be built.”

All interested parties are encouraged to supply their information by July 12, 2020, which will then be shared with developers. Further contacts and negotiations will not be handled by Hawaiian Electric and will be left between private owners and prospective developers. Standard procedures for power purchase agreements or community solar agreements would still apply.

The company hopes that these arrangements could not only help customers reduce their household electricity bills, but create jobs and public revenues along the way.