AES Launches State’s Largest Solar Plant on Maui

BRYAN BERKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER AES Hawai’i “has had the blessing of its Kuihelani solar-plus-storage facility, the largest solar plant in the state.

1 /2 BRYAN BERKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER AES Hawaii “has had the blessing of its Kuihelani solar-plus-storage facility, the largest solar plant in the state.

BRYAN BERKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER Maui Mayor Richard Bissen issued a proclamation Friday declaring Energy Resilience Day in Maui County.

2 /2 BRYAN BERKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER Maui Mayor Richard Bissen issued a proclamation Friday declaring Energy Resilience Day in Maui County.

BRYAN BERKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER AES Hawai’i “has had the blessing of its Kuihelani solar-plus-storage facility, the largest solar plant in the state.

BRYAN BERKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER Maui Mayor Richard Bissen issued a proclamation Friday declaring Energy Resilience Day in Maui County.

AES Hawai’i launched Kuihelani solar-plus-storage, the state’s largest solar power plant.

The Central Maui project is a key component of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative’s ambitious 2045 goals, as well as AES’s own goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions from electricity sales by 2040.

Bernerd Da Santos, executive vice president and president of Global Renewables at The AES Corp., and Sandra Larsen, president of AES Hawai’i, met with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Thursday ahead of Friday’s blessing of the Kuihelani project, which produces electricity for Maui at a cost of 8 cents per kilowatt-hour, the lowest cost renewable energy in the state.

“Our (goal) is as aggressive as Hawaii. It’s 2040, so I support 2045,” Da Santos said. “I think Hawaii has taken the lead to have an aggressive goal in the United States. Climate change is the greatest challenge facing humanity, and every state, every organization, every industry that has an aggressive goal is doing the right thing. That’s going to drive change. That’s going to drive the technology and the focus of resources that have to be put into place to make it happen.”

The closure of the AES Hawai’i coal-fired power plant in 2022 coincided with the end of a 30-year power purchase agreement with Hawaiian Electric. Since then, AES and partners have been working to achieve the state’s goal of obtaining all of its energy from renewable sources by 2045.

“We wanted to invest in Hawaii, and we wanted to invest in a size that would replace the energy of that coal-fired plant,” Da Santos said. “That coal-fired plant employed 180 people. We said we’d find jobs for our people who work at that plant, and we did. Today, our people work for HECO, for AES in renewables, and for other companies in the sustainable field.

“We had 180 (megawatts) in that (coal) facility, and now we’re running 366 MW of solar plus over 1,000 MWh of stored energy. That in itself is more than three times the capacity of that (coal) facility.”

Kuihelani comes as AES Hawai’i accelerates its commitment to Hawaii’s clean energy initiative. With the Kuihelani project, AES is making progress on 11 renewable projects statewide — the most of any other renewable energy developer. AES Hawai’i already has six projects in operation in Hawaii, including the Lawa ‘i Solar and Energy Storage Project and AES PMRF Solar-plus storage on Kauai; the Na Pua Makani wind project in Kahuku and the HECO AES West O ‘ahu Solar project on Oahu; HELCO AES Waikoloa Solar on Hawaii Island; and Kuihe lani on Maui.

AES is developing the West Kauai Energy Project on Kauai; the HECO Waiawa Phase 2 Solar Project in Pearl City; the HECO AES Mountain View Solar Project in Waianae on Oahu; the HELCO Ke ‘amuku Solar + Storage Project on Hawaii Island; and the MECO Kuihelani Solar Phase 2 Project in Central Maui, which is in a 30-day comment period that runs through September 26.

Da Santos said the renewable energy projects in Hawaii are part of a drastic change at AES, a Fortune 500 global energy company founded in 1981 that had built a significant number of coal-fired facilities until 2016, when it decided to shut down operations.

He said about two-thirds of AES’s business in 2016 was coal, and now the coal share is less than 20%. To achieve that company-wide goal, AES is launching more renewable energy projects in wind, solar and battery storage.

To meet decarbonization goals and pursue innovation, AES is also building its clean hydrogen business. AES is part of two regional clean hydrogen hubs that are receiving up to $2.4 billion in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to support the development and scaling of clean hydrogen infrastructure in California and along the Gulf Coast.

Da Santos said green hydrogen holds promise for Hawaii, but only once it becomes more scalable and prices come down, perhaps in the early 2030s. He said Hawaii should also consider geothermal, and other alternative renewable energy sources could be considered as part of a diversification strategy.

Now, projects like Kuihelani, which opened May 31, are allowing grid operator Hawaiian Electric to accept and use more energy generated intermittently from renewable sources, including rooftop solar panels, as part of a long-term transition from fossil-fuel-fired power plants to 100% renewable energy.

Da Santos said Kuihelani was an example of the potential for broad collaboration between government and industry partners.

“Everyone wins with this project: the County of Maui, the State of Hawaii, Hawaiian Electric and, most importantly, the people of Maui who expect and want electricity to be generated efficiently, effectively and affordably for generations to come,” he said in a statement.

Larsen said Kuihelani’s solar-plus-storage system is already producing 60 MW of renewable energy, backed up by a 240 MWh lithium-ion battery storage system that generates enough electricity for 27,000 homes, providing 15% of Maui’s energy needs. The project also offsets the need to import 2 million barrels of oil to produce electricity.

Larsen said Kuihelani, which sits on 450 acres in Central Maui, also has a dual-use agricultural use that supports Maui’s food production needs. She said AES Hawai’i is working with Ho ‘oulu ‘Aina Farms in Waikapu so sheep can graze on the land.

“We are excited about the positive impact that Kuihe lani and its dual-use capabilities are having on the quality of life on Maui,” Larsen said in a statement. “Our collective team at AES Hawai’i is always focused on the future and how our clean, renewable energy production can make the enjoyment and affordability of life on Hawai’i better and more promising for families and children.”

Friday’s dedication ceremony was intended to recognize the project’s impact on Maui’s power grid and the island’s economy.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen presented Da Santos and AES Hawai’i with a proclamation declaring Friday as Energy Resilience Day for Maui County. Kuihe lani supports 300 jobs and generates $68 million for Maui’s economy.

Larsen said in a statement that AES Hawai is grateful for the broad support for its first utility-scale solar project on Maui, which includes a power purchase agreement with Hawaiian Electric.

She said, “The exceptional support we received from trusted community partners like Maui County, Hawaiian Electric and our Maui contractors made it possible to launch Kuihelani and allow us to generate affordable renewable energy for Maui for the next 25 years.”

Shelee Kimura, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric, said in a statement that the Kuihelani solar-plus-storage solution is a successful example of the company’s decade-long effort to expand renewable energy offerings to every island.

“By creating a marketplace for partners like AES Hawai’i and developing long-term contracts that deliver value to customers, we will continue to see projects that meet critical renewable energy needs and advance our state’s renewable energy and carbon reduction goals,” Kimura said.