Hawaiian Electric to invest USD 148m in battery storage

Hawaiian Electric Co on Wednesday unveiled plans for investing almost USD 148 million (EUR 123.3m) in new energy storage capacity in Oahu in an effort to enhance the resilience and reliability of its power grid on the island.

More specifically, the company intends to build, own and operate a 20-MW/80-MWh lithium-ion battery storage system at the site of the 20-MW West Loch solar park at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the construction of which was launched last month. Construction of the battery storage unit, the investment in which is estimated at USD 43.5 million, could start by October 2019 with the aim of putting the facility on stream by February 2020.

Hawaiian Electric noted that the project will be eligible for the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) as the energy storage system will be paired with the solar park.

In addition, the company will install a 100-MW/100-MWh lithium-ion battery facility at the Campbell Industrial Park at a cost of USD 104 million. It intends to initiate construction in October 2019 and commission the system by October 2020.

“As Hawaiian Electric progresses toward 100 percent renewable energy, these storage projects will reduce our fossil fuel use by enabling more solar and wind integration into the grid,” said Ron Cox, senior vice president for operations at Hawaiian Electric. The schemes are pending approval by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

Separately, Hawaiian Electric is also accepting proposals for new grid-scale renewable generation with a storage component -- 220 MW for Oahu, 60 MW for Maui and 20 MW for Hawaii Island.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.834)

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