PMRF solar project approved

BARKING SANDS — A new solar facility has just been approved by the Public Utilities Commission at Pacific Missile Range Facility, one that will produce enough power to energize 6,000 homes and displace 2.8 million gallons of diesel annually.

It’s the third battery storage project undertaken by Kauai Island Electric Cooperative since 2015 and the addition of that facility should propel Kauai to 70 percent renewable generation by the end of 2019.

“These storage projects are moving us rapidly closer to our renewable goals. By the end of 2019, KIUC will be able to supply roughly 65 percent of Kauai’s night time peak load with stored solar generated energy. To be able to accomplish this in a cost effective manner was just a dream a few years ago,” said KIUC CEO David Bissell.

He continued: “The partnerships between KIUC’s engineers and those of some of the best renewable energy companies in the world is making the impossible a reality.”

In early 2017, KIUC and Tesla opened the world’s first utility-scale solar plus storage facility in Kapaia. The Tesla plant is now storing up to 52 MWh of energy on a daily basis, which is primarily dispatched to the grid during the evening peak demand period.

In February, AES broke ground on KIUC’s second solar plus battery project in Lawai. Scheduled to be operational by the end of this year, the Lawai facility consists of 28 MW solar photovoltaic and a 20 MW five-hour duration energy storage system.

The PMRF facility, which will be built by AES Distributed Energy on land leased from the Department of Defense, will be one of KIUC’s lowest-cost power sources: the cooperative has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with AES at a price of 10.85 cents per kilowatt hour.

“KIUC’s Board of Directors set an aggressive goal of reaching 70 percent renewable by 2030,” stated Bissell. “Once this project is complete, we will be very close to that mark a decade early.”

Another KIUC renewable project in development will use pumped storage hydro technology to create 25 MW of energy on the Westside of Kauai. The Pu‘u ‘Opae project involves the rehabilitation of three reservoirs and other agricultural infrastructure on state land in Waimea.

Once complete, the project will not only provide a significant renewable power source for KIUC members, but will also pave the way for the Department of Hawaiian Homelands to place homestead property into productive agricultural use.

“If all goes well with the two AES projects and Pu‘u ‘Opae, we estimate we will be approaching 90 percent renewable by 2023,” said Bissell. “It takes an incredible team effort, strong leadership from our Board and the support of our members to make this kind of progress. We should all be proud of how far we’ve come in such a short time.”

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Jessica Else, environment reporter, can be reached at 245-0452 or at jelse@thegardenisland.com