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    Clearway Energy completes Utility-scale Solar-Storage in Oahu

    Jan. 17, 2023
    This is Clearway’s fifth utility-scale solar project in Hawaii, and second utility-scale solar and battery project on Oahu. Project construction was led by Moss and the batteries were supplied by Wärtsilä
    Image credit Clearway
    Image Credit Clearway 63c6ad7db6b85

    Power producer Clearway Energy Group recently achieved commercial operations for its 36-MW solar farm with 144 MWh of battery storage on Kamehameha Schools’ lands in Waiawa in Central Oahu, Hawaii.

    According to the company, the site will produce enough clean electricity to provide power for more than 7,600 homes per year. The battery system stores electricity for use during periods of peak demand and when the sun is not available.

    The project represents a $150 million investment on approximately 180 acres of land leased from Kamehameha Schools.

    This is Clearway’s fifth utility-scale solar project in Hawaii, and second utility-scale solar and battery project on Oahu. Project construction was led by Moss and the batteries were supplied by Wärtsilä.

    “We are proud to help Hawaii reach its climate goals and invest in renewable energy in the state,” said Craig Cornelius, CEO of Clearway. “We are immensely grateful for the collaboration with our partners Hawaiian Electric and Kamehameha Schools who help make those goals a reality.”

    Since 2019, Clearway has built several renewable energy projects in Hawaii, including a 49 MW site in Kawailoa on Oahu’s North Shore, a 14.7 MW facility in Mililani, and a 45.9 MW facility in Waipio. In August 2022, the company completed its first utility-scale solar and battery project in the Mililani Agricultural Park. Combined, these five solar projects have a total capacity of 185 MW for Hawaiian Electric’s grid and produce enough clean electricity to power more than 45,500 homes on Oahu annually.

    “Stabilizing energy costs for our customers is a priority, and projects like Waiawa Solar will feed electricity to the grid at about half the cost of oil,” said Shelee Kimura, President and CEO of Hawaiian Electric. “We appreciate Clearway’s and Kamehameha Schools’ contributions as we all work together to decarbonize our energy system, and look forward to bringing more benefits to our communities as six additional projects come online over the next two years on Oahu.”

    Clearway Energy Group is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Carlsbad, California; Scottsdale, Arizona; Houston; and Princeton, N.J. Along with its public affiliate Clearway Energy, the company owns and operates more than 8 GW of renewable and conventional energy assets across the country.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.