Younicos repowers another US wind farm’s legacy energy storage system with lithium-ion batteries

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
Kaheawa wind farm on Mau, Hawaii. Image: Wikimedia user Tom Walsh.

Younicos will carry out another project to retrofit lithium-ion batteries in replacement for an existing lead acid battery system at a wind farm, this time in Hawaii.

In December 2017, Energy-Storage.News reported that battery energy storage at the 36MW Notrees wind farm in Texas was successfully upgraded by the German-American system integrator to take out existing lead acid batteries and replace them with lithium. Company spokesman Philip Hiersemenzel said that the operation had been carried out with “minimal downtime” from the system.

Younicos is now following that up with the award of a contract to do the same for Kaheawa, a wind farm built in two phases totalling 51MW generation capacity, on the island of Mau, Hawaii, from developer and asset owner TerraForm Power. The energy storage facility will be of 10MW capacity, expected to have a short duration of storage and will be used to smooth out the variable output of the wind farm. The project is expected to be completed during the second half of this year and will be fitted with Younicos’ proprietary Y.Q. control software.

The lithium-ion retrofit will increase the usable energy capacity potential of the wind farm, increase operational lifetime of the energy storage system and the use of the Y.Q platform will enable the storage facility to run on a fully automated basis, including assessment and monitoring of the life of the battery.

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

“The combination of wind plus storage adds stability, while also making new revenue streams for renewables possible through services such as peak shifting or arbitrage,” Younicos managing director Jayesh Goyal said.

“It’s a win-win for both TerraForm and the environment.”

3 November 2026
Málaga, Spain
Understanding technology and supplier selection for Europe’s utility-scale PV market in 2027. PV ModuleTech Europe 2026 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of PV module, inverter and battery supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, supply chain traceability, quality assurance, factory auditing, system reliability, and supplier bankability.

Read Next

September 16, 2026
Interconnection costs for utility-scale energy storage in California are significantly lower than in other major US markets, with developers also benefiting from network upgrade cost reimbursements unavailable elsewhere, according to a senior executive at Rev Renewables.
September 16, 2026
OCP Green Energy has completed the installation of a 25MW/125MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Benguerir, Morocco.
September 14, 2026
Lava Blue commissions Australia’s first grid-connected sodium-sulfur BESS, while ZEBRE’s 360MWh Noblevale BESS clears EPBC review.
September 11, 2026
Our collection of user-posted analysis, views, and unofficial news, gathered from our networks on LinkedIn, returns for its third outing.
September 7, 2026
Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has approved plans to require bidders in a renewable energy auction to include energy storage.