North American Windpower: Hawaiian Electric Seeking Utility-Scale Renewable Energy Projects

Hawaiian Electric Seeking Utility-Scale Renewable Energy Projects

by NAW Staff Monday March 04 2013

Hawaiian Electric Co. is seeking qualified utility-scale renewable energy projects that developers can place into service quickly at a "low cost per kilowatt-hour."

If such projects are identified, the utility will work with the developer to seek a waiver from the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Competitive Bidding Framework. In order to qualify to seek a waiver, a project must be located on Oahu and be larger than 5 MW.

Projects can use any viable renewable energy technology, such as wind or solar. Projects must also meet all applicable archaeological, environmental and construction permitting requirements.

In addition to the waiver from competitive bidding, Hawaiian Electric and any developer selected must negotiate a power purchase agreement that will be subject to PUC approval. The goal is to have one or more such projects in service by 2015.

"We believe the best way to reduce our customers' bills is to add as much renewable energy on long-term, fixed-price contracts to our grids as soon as possible," explains Scott Seu, Hawaiian Electric’s vice president of energy resources and operations. "We believe there may be projects substantially ready to go that can be built quickly and at a cost that can help reduce our heavy dependency on fossil fuels."

More information is available here.

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