KAPA‘A — In rainy weather and through ankle-deep mud, county officials and Kapa‘a Solar LLC project members gathered under a tent Friday for a blessing and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the state’s largest and Kaua‘i’s first solar farm. Kapa‘a Solar
KAPA‘A — In rainy weather and through ankle-deep mud, county officials and Kapa‘a Solar LLC project members gathered under a tent Friday for a blessing and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the state’s largest and Kaua‘i’s first solar farm.
Kapa‘a Solar LLC President and sole member Kurt Bosshard, who is originally from Wisconsin, joked with the crowd about the traditional definition of a farm with which he grew up.
“If it doesn’t smell and it doesn’t kick, it’s not a farm,” he said. “Now, I’m here with a solar farm, farming the sun.”
Kapa‘a Solar, which financed the $5.2 million project developed by REC Solar, has a 20-year power purchase agreement with Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative.
The 1.21 megawatt installation will produce an estimated 1.8 megawatt hours of energy annually, a press release states, enough energy to power nearly 300 homes a year.
A message from Gov. Neil Abercrombie, delivered by an associate, said the farm highlights the state’s efforts to go green and brings the Islands a step closer to energy independence, the most important enterprise.
Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said he is very proud of the project, because it helps Kaua‘i move forward in its effort to get off of fossil fuels.
“Creating more renewable energy alternatives is one of the most critical challenges we face,” Carvalho said in a prepared statement. “In my Holo Holo 2020 vision, renewable energy has been incorporated in our homes, our businesses and our utility to the greatest extent possible.”
The county, along with KIUC, has made a commitment to transition to 50 percent renewable energy by 2023.
KIUC was commended for its willingness to enter into an agreement with Kapa‘a Solar.
“If you don’t have a taker for it (the energy), you don’t have a project,” REC Solar regional sales manager Drew Bradley said. “KIUC has jumped out in front of this project and has moved faster than any other utility.”
KIUC President and CEO
David Bissell said, “This first utility-scale solar farm on Kaua‘i allows us the opportunity to determine and better understand the physical limitations of high-penetration PV on a distribution circuit and to work through some specific technicalities associated with adding large-scale intermittent renewables to our generation mix.”
The 5-acre farm, which sits on 165 acres formerly farmed for pineapple, was designed, procured and managed by REC Solar.
“With ample sunshine and aggressive renewable energy goals, Hawai‘i is poised to emerge as a leading market for solar energy generation,” said Angiolo Laviziano, CEO of REC Solar. “The commissioning of the system today marks an important step forward for the island of Kaua‘i and the state.”
The solar power plant was designed with four 250 kilowatt Advanced Energy Solaron Inverters and is powered by 5,376 REC Group, 225-watt, Peak Energy Series modules, a press release states. The inverters’ output is stepped up with a single 1 megawatt transformer and interconnected directly to KIUC’s distribution lines.
From beginning to end, the project took 40 workers 140 days and 9,000 hours of labor to complete, Bosshard said. “Nobody missed a day of work or came in late, which is a credit to Kaua‘i’s workforce.”
He said he had to finish the project by Dec. 31 to take advantage of government incentives and grants that would fund approximately 50 percent of the construction costs.
“This project was made possible by the long-term vision of our community, its leaders, and each and every individual who participated in the planning, permitting and construction of this facility,” Bosshard said. “Kapa‘a Solar and I personally wish to thank everyone who helped in this process.”
• Vanessa Van Voorhis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or by e-mailing vvanvoorhis@kauaipubco.
com.
