Hawaiian Electric Companies issue call for projects to accelerate islands' renewable energy transition

The Hawaiian Electric Companies, subsidiaries of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. are beginning the largest procurement effort for renewable energy resources in Hawai'i, US. The aim is to end the use of coal and reduce reliance on imported oil for power generation in order to move the state closer to its goal of using 100% renewable energy by 2045. With the approval of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the companies have issued requests for proposals for renewable energy and grid services from developers locally and globally. Details are at www.hawaiianelectric.com/competitivebidding. Approximately 900 MW of new renewables or renewables paired with storage -- generating about 2 million MWh annually -- are sought. This includes estimated targets of technologies equal to 594 MW of solar for O'ahu, 135 MW for Maui and up to 203 MW for Hawai'i Island. Projects for Maui must include energy storage. On Hawai'i Island, solar must include storage but is optional for other technologies. On O'ahu, pairing generation with energy storage is optional. Storage on O'ahu and Maui is also being sought to replace firm generating units. This can be provided by renewable generation paired with storage or standalone storage.