LIHUE — A new hydroelectric facility is coming to Kauai’s Westside and is expected to produce nearly 5 percent of the island’s power. Gay & Robinson, Inc. plans to build the 6-megawatt plant below its existing 1.3-megawatt facility on the
LIHUE — A new hydroelectric facility is coming to Kauai’s Westside and is expected to produce nearly 5 percent of the island’s power.
Gay & Robinson, Inc. plans to build the 6-megawatt plant below its existing 1.3-megawatt facility on the Olokele Ditch, according to Kauai Island Utility Cooperative.
During a special meeting Thursday, the KIUC Board of Directors unanimously approved a tentative agreement to buy power from the G&R facility.
Dave Bissell, president and CEO of KIUC, said in a release that the co-op is please to work with G&R on the “first new, large-scale hydropower plant built on Kauai in 80 years.”
“With this agreement, we’re nearly at our strategic goal of using renewables to generate 50 percent of our energy and well ahead of the 2023 deadline we set,” he said. “This project will reduce our oil consumption by about 1.4 million gallons per year and further insulate Kauai’s energy supply from the volatile world market.”
KIUC currently purchases electricity from the existing G&R hydro plant, built in 1920 to supply power to the plantation. Once the new one is up and running, the two projects will produce 5 percent of the electricity consumed annually on Kauai, KIUC said.
The terms of the proposed contract between KIUC and G&R are confidential and subject to approval by the Public Utilities Commission. G&R hopes to have the new system operational by 2019.
“As a kamaaina company in business for 150 years, we are proud to use our resources to help make Kauai energy independent and sustainable,” Charles Okamoto, president and CEO of G&R, said in a release. “We believe this is an important investment in our island’s future and are pleased to help our cooperative reach its renewable energy targets.”
KIUC announced it is also pursuing a pumped storage system on state land on Kauai’s Westside. The system would use low-cost solar power to pump water uphill to a reservoir during the day. At night, the water would be released from the reservoir to flow downhill and turn turbines to create electricity, the co-op said.
That system could meet about 13 percent of Kauai’s annual energy demand.
KIUC has obtained access to two potential pumped storage sites from the state Agribusiness Development Corp., the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, enabling the cooperative to conduct detailed technical studies.
An informational briefing on the pumped storage project will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Waimea Theatre.
