SolarCity gets 15-MW solar job in Hawaii

(SeeNews) – Oct 24, 2013 - US photovoltaic (PV) system installer SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) said Wednesday it would construct a 15-MW solar system on the Hawaiian island of O‘ahu under a contract with Hawaiian Electric Co (HECO).

The order was obtained in a procurement tender.

Hawaiian Electric Co (HECO), a division of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc (NYSE:HE), will own and operate the facility, which is scheduled to go online by the end of 2015. The PV arrays will be mounted on 50 acres (20 ha) of undeveloped land.

According to Hawaiian Electric’s calculations, the project will lower the utility's power production costs by USD 64 million (EUR 46.4m) during its lifetime, while saving about 1.8 million gallons (6.8 million litres) of fuel oil per year.

The project is subject to the approval of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the completion of certain environmental and cultural reviews.

This is SolarCity’s second utility-scale project in Hawaii. The company had previously landed a contract to construct a 12-MW solar plant near the town of Koloa for Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC).

(USD 1 = EUR 0.725)

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