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Barbers Point

Solar Energy and Battery Storage

Energy

Solar + Battery

Offtaker

Targeted to: Hawaiian Electric Company

Status

Prospective

Capacity Gross (MW)

15 MW (60 MWh battery storage)

Location

Kapolei, O’ahu

Expected Commissioning

tba

This project would be developed on land owned by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) in Kapolei on the island of O’ahu.

The project would power approximately 6,200 O'ahu households with clean, renewable energy.

To power the island of O’ahu with clean and renewable solar energy, a solar field would be built with arrays of photovoltaic panels arranged in rows. The solar array would charge the battery during the day to provide electricity whenever it is needed most, day or night. Barbers Point will be capable of generating up to 37,014 MWh per year.  

A solar project of this nature also requires the following components:

  • the solar photovoltaic system;
  • a network of electrical collector lines;
  • battery energy storage and inverter units;
  • step-up transformers;
  • a collector substation and transformer;
  • an overhead generation-tie line;
  • internal access roads; and
  • temporary laydown (i.e. staging) areas for construction.

Land

The Project is compatible with all zoning and land use classifications, including Kalaeloa Community Development District / Hawai’i Community Development Authority rules and standards. These lands were deemed not suitable for homesteading due to their proximity to a nearby airport as well as their remote locations, physical characteristics, and lack of infrastructure for residential development. While all DHHL lands in Kalaeloa are zoned for Industrial use, several parcels were designated for renewable energy production in 2014 and that the highest and best use of these available lands would be in the renewable energy category as a result of limiting issues relating to land tenure, presence of historical structures, and topography. The area’s terrain is susceptible to sink holes and therefore more appropriate for low-intensity industrial use. Revenues developed from industrial leasing of these available lands are used by DHHL to develop new homesteads in suitable residential areas throughout the state.

Barbers Point must be connected to the grid to supply the community with the needed power. The Project is sited in a relatively remote and industrial area and not immediately adjacent to any existing or planned residential communities.

An interconnection route would be built and consist of an overhead transmission line that would extend from the Project switchyard approximately 0.25-miles northeast from the solar array to connect into the Hawaiian Electric grid.

The solar array and associated infrastructure would occupy approximately 100 acres.