Hawaiian Electric to install 4-hour duration flywheel storage pilot project

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Source: Flickr/Marvin Chandra
Hawaiian Electric has teamed with Californian storage company Amber Kinetics on a 4-hour duration flywheel energy storage pilot project in Oahu.

Amber Kinetics will assume construction and installation responsibilities for the 25-steel flywheel system, which will be located in Hawaiian Electric’s Campbell Industrial Park.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The flywheel, once operational, will be capable of charging and discharging electricity for multiple duty cycles daily. It will also provide renewable firming and peak shifting, flexible capacity and ancillary grid services such as voltage smoothing and frequency response for reliable utility operation. According to Amber Kinetics, the system is capable of supporting unlimited cycling with zero capacity loss during a service life of more than 20 years.

Funding of the project is jointly shared by Hawaiian Electric and Energy Excelerator, US a financier of start-ups in renewable ventures.

“Hawaiian Electric Company is a leader among US utilities for adopting and integrating renewable energy to create a sustainable energy future. Now it is continuing that leadership by exploring the potential of flywheel energy storage,” said Ed Chiao, Amber Kinetics’ co-founder and CEO. “We are excited to collaborate toward achieving the state’s 100% renewable energy goals by 2045.”

“Energy storage is essential to reach a 100% renewable energy future, optimizing the use of Hawai‘i’s abundant but variable solar and wind energy,” added Shelee Kimura, Hawaiian Electric vice president for corporate planning and business development. “We are collaborating with a variety of partners to test a range of energy storage technologies and we are very excited to work with Amber Kinetics to evaluate this very promising flywheel energy storage system.”

Read Next

July 2, 2025
Utility Ignitis Group has taken a final investment decision (FID) on three large-scale battery storage projects in Lithuania.
July 2, 2025
Developer Atmos Renewables has successfully achieved financial close on its 400MWh Merredin battery energy storage system (BESS) in Western Australia.
June 27, 2025
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) predicts South Australia and New South Wales could experience reliability gaps from 2026-27 and 2027-28.
Premium
June 26, 2025
Documents filed with the Hawaiian Public Utilities Commission (PUC) have revealed the impacts of additional import tariffs to a Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) battery storage project.
June 24, 2025
AEMO has issued a call for 6-hour duration BESS in Western Australia to support grid reliability as coal-fired power plants are withdrawn.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter