KIUC Proposes New Renewable Projects

Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative is pursuing two new renewable energy projects expected to bring Kauaʻi close to 80% renewable energy by 2028.

“Our board of directors has set an aggressive goal of reaching 100% renewable by 2033,” said KIUC’s president and chief executive officer, David Bissell. “Successful completion of these projects will allow us to progress towards achieving the State of Hawaiʻi mandate 12 years ahead of schedule.”

The two solar-plus-battery-storage projects would be developed by AES Hawaiʻi under power purchase agreements (PPA) submitted to the Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission for approval. The project details include:

• Mānā Solar + Storage: 35 megawatts (MW) solar with 4-hour storage capacity to produce an average of 86,000 megawatt hours (MWh) annually of dispatchable renewable energy over the 25-year PPA. The project is proposed to be located on land owned by the Agribusiness Development Corporation on the Mānā Plain and is expected to displace the use of 5.9 million gallons of diesel per year. At a price of $0.127 per kilowatt-hour, Mānā Solar + Storage is estimated to save KIUC members $6.4 million in the first year of operation, with a cumulative total estimated savings of $370 million over the life of the 25-year PPA.
• Kaawanui Solar + Storage: 43 MW solar with 4-hour storage capacity to produce an average of over 100,000 MWh annually of dispatchable renewable energy over the 25-year PPA. The project is proposed to be located on land managed by Gay & Robinson, Inc. in Makaweli, and is expected to displace the use of 7.1 million gallons of diesel per year. At a price of $0.1334 per kilowatt-hour, Kaawanui Solar + Storage is estimated to save KIUC members $7 million in the first year of operation, with a cumulative total estimated savings of $429 million over the life of the 25-year PPA.

In total, the two projects are expected to account for 35-40% of KIUC’s annual energy production and generate enough electricity to power more than 30,000 homes.

“We’ve already experienced significant rate stabilization over the past five years due to the high percentage of power generation from renewable projects on fixed-price PPA’s,” said Bissell. “Our rates have gone from being the highest in the state by a large margin, to among the lowest in just 20 years. With these projects we’ll be essentially buffered from oil-price volatility.”

“AES Hawaiʻi looks forward to continuing our successful collaboration with KIUC with the Mānā Solar + Storage and Kaawanui Solar + Storage projects,” said Nick Molinari, Director of Development for AES Hawaiʻi. “These innovative projects will provide Kauaʻi residents with affordable, reliable power while substantially accelerating progress toward our state’s clean energy goals.”

“AES Hawaiʻi has been a reliable renewable energy partner for us since we opened the AES Lāwaʻi facility in 2019 and the AES PMRF facility in 2021,” said KIUC’s Chief of Operations, Brad Rockwell. “Assuming no delays in obtaining all necessary permits and approvals, we believe these projects can come online as early as 2028.”