AES Hawaii generating power from its first combined solar, battery storage facility on Oahu

In a first for AES Hawaii, the company this week announced that a new 12.5 MW solar plus storage facility began generating power on Oahu.

Based in West Oahu, the site’s clean generation is backed by a 50 MW hour battery energy storage system. The whole facility operates under a 25-year power purchase agreement with Hawaiian Electric, for $0.115 cents per kW hour. In return, AES Hawaii stated, the energy produced will cut Oahu’s use of fossil fuels by 750,000 barrels of oil over the project’s lifetime, while reducing associated pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

“This is a momentous day for AES Hawaii as it is our first solar and storage project on Oahu and one that is providing a multitude of benefits over many years that extends far beyond the low-cost, clean energy we are generating for the people of Oahu,” Bernerd Da Santos, AES executive vice president and president of global renewables, said. “We are partnering with a premier educational institution in the University of Hawaii-West Oahu, helping to reduce Hawaii’s dependence on imported oil and utilizing the land to support the island’s agricultural needs.”

The new project supports the University of Hawaii-West Oahu’s net-zero energy goals and offers new opportunities for its students. Further, it supported more than 120 temporary construction jobs over two years of building, and the land it’s on will still be used for sheep grazing.

“This project is one of many we welcome, as we make progress toward the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, launched in 2008,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, M.D., said. “We will continue the good work that is underway to make our islands petroleum-independent by the year 2045. Our administration is investing in contractor training programs to build a workforce with the technical expertise to support efforts like this.”