Source:mauinews.com
Hawaiian Electric has selected the first three solar projects on Maui that will offer the shared solar program, allowing people who are unable to install their own rooftop solar system to benefit from renewable energy savings.
The largest of the projects will be Lipoa Solar, a 3-megawatt solar and battery project located mauka of the Maui Nui Golf Club in Kihei. The other two projects selected were Makawao Solar, a 2.5-MW solar and battery project that will be located just off Kula Highway next to King Kekaulike High School, and Piiholo Road Solar, another 2.5-megawatt solar and battery project that will be sited on land near the intersection of Piilolo Road and Makawao Avenue.
All are being developed by Nexamp Solar and are expected to be online in 2025.
They were among seven solar projects on Maui, Oahu and Hawaii island that will be the first on each island to offer the shared solar program, also known as community-based renewable energy. The program is geared toward people who aren’t able to install a privately owned rooftop solar system and benefit from lower electric bills, such as renters, apartment residents and small commercial customers.
Shared solar projects would provide these customers the option to become “subscribers” and get a credit on their monthly electric bill based on their level of participation.
Hawaiian Electric opened the first phase of the program in June 2018, though it only sought 8 megawatts statewide. One of those projects, the 28.32-kilowatt ROIZ CBRE on Maui, is currently in operation, according to Hawaiian Electric’s website.
Phase 2, meanwhile, is open to about 250 MW of renewable generation across the five islands Hawaiian Electric serves, with special emphasis on opportunities for low- to moderate-income residential customers. In March, the company opened a request for proposals for developers, companies, organizations or groups to become a “subscriber organization” of shared solar projects for low- to moderate-income customers.
Lanai already has its first shared solar project on the horizon; the 17.5-MW Lanai Solar project selected by Hawaiian Electric earlier this year would reserve 3 MW for the shared solar program, paired with an 89-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.
The recently selected projects for Maui, Oahu and Hawaii island share a similar developer in Nexamp, a national clean energy company headquartered in Boston. Nexamp will develop three projects on Hawaii island — Kalaoa Solar A, Kalaoa Solar B and Naalehu Solar, each of which will have a capacity of 3 megawatts and battery storage — and will partner up with Melink Solar Development on a 6-megawatt, solar-only Kaukonahua Solar project on Oahu.
Zaid Ashai, chief executive officer of Nexamp, said that “our proven track record as a long-term owner/operator has made us a trusted partner in hundreds of communities today and our seven new Nexamp projects in Hawaii will help the state move toward its decarbonization goals.”
“Dedicated to low- and moderate-income residents, each of these shared solar projects will ensure equal access to participate and lower their electric costs while reducing the islands’ fossil fuel dependence,” Ashai said in a news release Tuesday. “We look forward to making our popular community solar program and other consumer decarbonization services available to all residents of Hawaii in the years ahead.”
Hawaiian Electric’s next steps for the recently selected projects will be to work with the developers to finalize the 20-year contracts. After each project contracts with Hawaiian Electric, subscriber organizations will be able to recruit and sign up customers to participate on the island where the project is located.
