Hawaii sees RFP for 900 MW renewables in competitive bidding
Dancers in Hawaii (source: flickr/ leadfoot, creative commons)
Carlo Cariaga
27 Aug 2019
The Hawaii Electric Companies has issued an RFP for renewable energy projects with the aim of developing up to 900 MW of renewable power generation or renewable-paired power storage.
With the approval of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the Hawaiian Electric Companies have issues requests for proposal for renewable energy and grid services from local and foreign developers. This is the largest procurement effort ever taken in Hawaii for renewable energy resources and takes the state one step closer to their goal of being powered by 100% renewable energy by 2045.
About 900 MW of new renewables or renewable-paired power storage will be needed for this effort. The renewable energy facilities are also meant to replace existing power plants that are scheduled for retirement, such as the Kahului power plant in Maui and the AES Hawaii coal-fired power plant in Oahu.
With the final RFP issues, proposals will be accepted until November 5. The PUC has chosen independent observers and technical advisers to assess the proposal and ensure that they are treated fairly and will not create technical issues on island grids.
The projects are expected to start by late 2020 and the firs phase to come online by 2022. The total MW expected from the projects is expected by 2025.
Source: Hawaiian Electric
