Wind Power: Focus On Hawaii

Hawaii Flag 300x1501 Wind Power: Focus On Hawaii

Hawaii. There’s a great history to be found here, it’s wonderful holiday destination, friendly people, some ace golf courses and it has some great renewable resources, particularly wind power.

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states (became a state August 21, 1959) and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean. At the southeastern end of the archipelago are the eight main islands making up Hawaii. Confusingly one of the islands is called Hawaii but is generally referred to as Big Island.

Hawaii Map1 Wind Power: Focus On Hawaii

The State spends millions of dollars each year on imported oil for transportation and electricity. That makes electricity expensive. Worldwide oil prices have been rising significantly, affecting all parts of the State’s economy. More than 50% of each electricity Bill in Hawaii is comprised of fuel costs. But why does that affect Hawaii more than other U.S. State?  The cost of electricity in Hawaii is higher than on the U.S. mainland for a number of reasons.

Hawaii Seal 295x3001 Wind Power: Focus On Hawaii

In Hawaii the electrical systems on each island are independent. Because there are no neighbouring utility companies from which to draw power in the event of a problem, a permanent reserve generating capacity and multiple distribution routes have to be maintained. And this increased infrastructure is paid for by a relatively small population. Mainland states mainly use lower-cost resources that aren’t readily available to Hawaii. It all adds up to the most expensive electricity bills. To reduce Hawaii’s use of oil, as well as protect the environment and to improve energy reliability and 24/7 availability, the State has committed to significantly increasing the use of renewable energy resources.

Hawaii Wind Farm1 Wind Power: Focus On Hawaii

Four years ago the State of Hawaii and the US Department of Energy signed a memorandum of understanding and announced the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, which has a goal to use renewable resources such as wind, sun, ocean, geothermal and bioenergy to supply 70% or more of Hawaii’s energy needs by 2030 and to reduce the state’s dependence on imported oil.

The Initiative’s efforts have focused on working with public and private partners on several clean energy projects throughout the state including: designing cost-effective approaches for 100% use of renewable energy on smaller islands, designing systems to improve stability of electrical grids operating with variable generating sources, such as wind power plants on the Island of Haw’s and Maui and expanding Hawaii’s capability to use locally grown crops as by-products for producing fuel and electricity.

hawaii old wind farm1 e1569751550728 Wind Power: Focus On Hawaii

Prior to the 2008 initiative, there had been wind farms established, but these were not sustainable. The Kamaoa Wind Farm consisted of thirty-seven Mitsubishi 250 kW wind turbines with an operationally typical total peak output of 7.5 MW. As of 2006, the turbines were falling into disrepair and they were finally shut down on August 15, 2006 (see photo above).

The State is unique when it comes to energy. Each island is a stand-alone grid without interconnections. When sugar was the main farming industry, plantations renewably supplied up to half the electricity on some islands. As the plantations vanished, imported oil grew so today oil powers 75% of Hawaii’s electric generation and 90% of all non-aviation energy use. It was accepted in 2008 that this was not sustainable.

Part of the clean energy agreement calls for changing Hawaii’s regulatory model. A newly approved rate-making model called “decoupling” disconnects utility revenues from sales to encourage energy conservation and renewable energy. A feed-in-tariff will make it easier for renewable energy developers to enter the market. More dynamic clean energy scenario planning will replace an older, less flexible process. Finally, newly approved electric vehicle charging rates are making Hawaii EV-ready.

Hawaiian Electric Company 300x1681 Wind Power: Focus On Hawaii

What’s the progress been? With 10% of electricity from renewable sources, Hawaii is already among the top half dozen states. The Big Island has reached nearly 40% renewable generation from geothermal, wind and other sources. Maui is not far behind. On Oahu, the population centre with over 75% of the State’s population, renewable generation is only about 4%, but the pace is picking up. A new 30 MW wind farm will go into full operation early next year. A second planned Oahu wind farm is in the early environmental review stage.

The sparsely populated islands of Molokai and Lanai have some of the world’s best wind for renewable power and the plan is to build 400 MW of high-capacity wind farms on these islands and an undersea cable to connect them to other islands. The plan is to bring cost-effective wind power to Oahu by linking multiple islands into a single grid for the first time.

Kawailoa Project 300x2251 Wind Power: Focus On Hawaii

In December of last year, Hawaii’s Public Utilities Commission approved First Wind’s 20-year PPA with Hawaii Electric Company for will become the US state’s biggest wind project. The 69MW Kawailoa project will be located on the north shore of Oahu island. First Wind said the construction is set to begin this year. Kawailoa will use 30 Siemens 2.3MW 101 turbines. It is the manufacturer’s first deal with First Wind and the first time it has installed turbines on Hawaii.

The Kawailoa project will be built on a former sugar plantation owned by Kamehameha Schools, the largest landowner in Hawaii.