HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission has approved a contract to build the largest solar farm connected to a battery system in the state.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports (http://bit.ly/2f7S0hS ) state regulators approved Friday the contract between Kauai Island Utility Cooperative and AES Distributed Energy Inc. to build the 28-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant with a 20-megawatt, five-hour energy storage system.
Kauai Island Utility Cooperative President and Chief Executive Officer David Bissell says the approval of the facility will boost the cooperative’s renewable sourced generation to make up more than 50 percent of its energy portfolio. Bissell says the cooperative is working to reach that in the next 18 months.
Kauai Island Utility Cooperative says in its application that it will save members more than $97 million over the life of the project.