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

Premium
December 19, 2025
The board of trustees for New York Power Authority (NYPA) last week gave the greenlight for the public power organisation to develop an additional 1.2GW of storage as part of its renewed Strategic Plan for New Renewable Energy Generation. 
December 19, 2025
The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation has agreed a financing package for a 1GW solar PV power plant paired with 600MWh of energy storage in Egypt.  
December 19, 2025
The Australian government has expanded the nationwide Cheaper Home Batteries Program, which has seen rapid uptake from homeowners.
Premium
December 18, 2025
California Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) Clean Power Alliance (CPA) last week (8 December 2025) moved one step closer to executing agreements for offtake with two companies developing innovative thermal battery storage projects. 
December 18, 2025
Two US companies, GridStor, and CPS Energy are making advancements on Texas energy storage deployments, with GridStor executing a tolling agreement and CPS Energy issuing a new request for proposals.