Hawaii PUC approves Innergex-Hawaiian Electric solar battery project on South Maui

As part of a 25-year contract with Innergex, Hawaiian Electric will purchase power from an upcoming 15 MW solar plus 60 MW hour battery project known as Paeahu Solar, after it gained approval from the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) this week.

Paeahu Solar will be located on Maui and function as one of four projects planned for the island as part of Hawaiian Electric’s efforts to bring on new renewable resources. Power will be purchased from the facility at 12 cents per kilowatt-hour, keeping it in line with prices from other grid-scale solar and battery projects on the islands. The project should come online sometime in 2023 and be capable of powering around 6,900 homes per year when it does.

The companies expect Paeahu to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 530,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent. For Hawaiian Electric’s customers, though, it will have a more immediate impact, cutting the average residential customer’s monthly electric bills by about $3. There could be some variance to this, however, depending on the cost of liquid fuels.

The facility will be located on approximately 200 acres leased from Ulupalakua Ranch. It joins another utility scale solar plus storage project known as AES Kuihelani in Central Maui. The PUC is currently reviewing plans for two other solar plus storage projects in West and Central Maui.