Solar-plus-pumped hydro project will bring Hawaiian island of Kaua'i to 80%+ renewables

• A large-scale solar PV system coupled with pumped hydro power storage could cover as high as 25% of the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i's power demand, pressing the island's overall share of renewables in its energy mix past 80%.

A power purchase agreement (PPA) has actually been signed for the West Kaua'i Energy Project (WKEP) in between neighborhood electrical energy Kaua'i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) as well as power company AES Corporation and also was declared approval with the Hawaii Public Utilties Commission on 31 December 2020.

The island, with a populace of around 70,000 individuals, currently reached 55% renewable energy by the end of 2019. The WKEP project, which will certainly incorporate a 35MW solar PV system with 240MWh of pumped hydro storage, will certainly take that portion a lot better. The center will certainly also include some battery storage to help regulate the time-shifting of saved solar power into the island's night peak as well as hydropower generation to contribute additional sustainable generation ability.

According to KIUC, the system will sometimes allow Kaua'i to run on "100% renewable resource for extended periods without sunshine" as well as assisting balance variable solar generation on the grid, including stability to the network. It will certainly also be made use of to supply irrigation water to agricultural manufacturing on state-owned lands and also boost water flow to Kaua'i's Waimea River, which has been a priority of the Commission on Water Resources since 2017.

With the pumped hydro center capable of outputting 24MW of power on average every day and also saving energy for up to 12 hrs, in addition to aiding the neighborhood utility satisfy evening peak demand as solar production tails off, it will additionally be able to cover night-time periods that solar-plus-storage projects utilizing electrochemical batteries such as lithium-ion can not.

Hawaii's solar-plus-storage transition is a win-win on financial and ecological basis

Hawaii has actually long been the United States state with the highest amount of solar capability deployed per capita of population, in part because the high price and also environmental influences of importing diesel to create electricity have meant renewables are both environmentally valuable and financially viable for the region.

The state is targeting 100% renewable resource by 2045. State utility Hawaiian Electric, which offers 1.4 million clients - around 95% of Hawaii's population - that survive its various other islands last year tendered for 460MW of solar and also about 3GWh of battery power storage space, consisting of solar-plus-storage and standalone storage space projects, in the islands of O'ahu and also Maui.

The islands have also been installing solar-plus-battery projects over the past couple of years that help meet that night optimal. In addition to Tesla's delivery of among the first 'dispatchable' large-scale solar plants in the United States, this consists of two projects the Kaua'i cooperative has actually released in collaboration currently with AES Corporation, among 20MW as well as one more of 14MW solar ability.

In addition, a 28W solar 20MW/ 100MWh battery project through AES subsidiary AES Distributed Energy with KIUC began in 2018, where energy will be delivered to the grid at US$ 0.11 per kWh, significantly below the expense of electrical energy from diesel.

KIUC president as well as CEO David Bissell explained the brand-new project in win-win terms: the center "will certainly run at an expense that will certainly benefit KIUC's participants for decades," Bissell stated, as well as stabilising electrical power price costs, relocate the island beyond 80% renewable resource, and "open inactive farming lands for manufacturing".

The project's extent additionally encompasses recovery of 3 tanks as well as related infrastructure, which Bissell said not just aids boost public access and leisure chances on those tanks but also adds sources that first -responders can get in touch with in the event of wildfires.

KIUC said that a draft environmental evaluation is expected to be filed with the US Department of Land and also Natural Resources throughout this quarter, with environmental researches for the project ongoing.

"This project's assimilation of pump storage hydropower with large-scale solar power is distinct in the power industry. Dealing with AES helps keep this crucial project progressing while reducing danger to our participating," David Bissell stated.

"We look forward to remaining to deal with the Kaua'i neighborhood and also stakeholders to develop this project responsibly, as well as to know the agricultural, economic, and environmental benefits the project uses," AES Clean Energy's chief development policeman Woody Rubin said.