Hawaiian Electric seeks regulatory approval for 300MW solar, 2,000MWh battery storage projects

September 17, 2020
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
Artist’s rendering of one of the projects, the 185 MW / 565 MWh Kapolei Energy Storage (KES) project from developer Plus Power. It will be interconnected on the island of Oahu and is the largest of the awarded projects. Image: Plus Power.

Hawaiian Electric has submitted eight contracts representing nearly 300MW of solar energy generation and about 2,000MWh of energy storage to be built on the islands of O’ahu and Maui.

The investor-owned utility has sent the contracts to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for review and approval. The projects form part of Hawaii’s largest renewables tender, which closed earlier this year and saw a total of 16 projects selected.

Hawaiian Electric said the six O’ahu facilities are expected to provide enough generation and storage needed to retire the state’s only coal power facility, the 180MW plant at Campbell Industrial Park owned by AES, by September 2022. Meanwhile, the completion of two green energy projects on Maui will help enable the retirement of the 38MW oil-fired Kahului plant in 2024.

The capacity of the solar-plus-storage projects ranges from 7 – 120MW, while the lowest price is the Kahana Solar facility in Maui at US0.089/kWh.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

To see the full version of this story, including a table of projects and prices per kWh, visit PV Tech.

24 March 2026
Dallas, Texas
The Energy Storage Summit USA is the only place where you are guaranteed to meet all the most important investors, developers, IPPs, RTOs and ISOs, policymakers, utilities, energy buyers, service providers, consultancies and technology providers in one room, to ensure that your deals get done as efficiently as possible. Book your ticket today to join us in 2026!

Read Next

December 5, 2025
Developer BrightNight and independent power producer (IPP) Cordelio Power have announced financial close of the 200MW/800MWh Greenwater battery energy storage system (BESS) in Washington state, US.
December 4, 2025
RWE Clean Energy has commissioned the Stoneridge Solar PV project in Texas, adding 200MW of solar PV and 100MW/200MWh BESS to its operational portfolio.
Premium
December 4, 2025
A subsidiary of utility Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) has struck a deal with Amazon to construct 3GW of new dispatchable capacity, with the aim of serving the tech company’s planned data center expansion.
December 4, 2025
PJM has awarded 23 battery energy storage system (BESS) resources, totalling 2.2GW, with interconnection agreements (IAs) in its first transition cycle (TC1) of the reformed interconnection process.
December 3, 2025
ABB has acquired the solar PV and wind inverter and battery storage power conversion system (PCS) businesses of Gamesa Electric.