I recently highlighted a couple of big solar + storage projects that were given the go-ahead in Hawaii. Then I found out that these are two of 16 solar and energy storage projects just approved for development in the state.
There have been several announcements about big new solar power projects this past week. Rather than try to tackle them one at a time (that wasn’t going to happen), I’m running through them below in a combo story.
Hawaiian Electric says it is planning to add nearly 1 gigawatt-hour of battery storage and close its largest coal-fired generating station over the next few years.
Hawaii has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and yet there are serious water quality issues to content with, primarily due to the large quantity of cesspools in the State. This is a huge issue for all of the islands, and impacts the health of humans, animals, and our ocean ecology. Here’s the story of a local non-profit that’s working to fix this crappy situation.
Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) just named a new CEO and was voted as ‘Best Utility’ in the US by Utility Dive. What policies and progress has the utility made in recent years to grab this honor, what’s the new CEO going to do going forward, and what does this really look like for residents of the islands?
The Mayors of Maui County and Honolulu County have announced lawsuits against the fossil fuel companies. Maui Mayor Michael Victorino announced Maui’s plans on October 29 and Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced Honolulu’s plans on November 5.
Sunrun, the United States’ leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services company, announced last week it intends to participate in Hawaiian Electric Company’s emerging grid services market by delivering electricity from a virtual power plant made up of home solar and batteries.
More electric buses are coming to Hawaii, New York, and Estonia as the world continues the transition away from diesel engines for its transportation needs.
Hawaiian Electric Companies submitted contracts earlier this month for seven grid-scale solar-plus-storage projects to be built on three of the state’s islands which will add approximately 262 megawatts (MW) worth of new solar capacity and 1,048 MW-hours worth of energy storage.
Hawaiian electric utilities have been forcefully de-linking residential rooftop solar generators at peak hours for several years, but the installation-discouraging practice may fade as refocused utility-scale solar+storage contracts come into effect. Beyond Hawaii, these new contract types, which shift curtailment risk away from the solar owner, also may help California avoid an increase in the curtailment of solar flowing onto its grid.
