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Hawaiian Electric will discuss the next stage of efforts to secure renewable energy projects for Maui at a virtual community meeting from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday.
The company will share and address community input received on its draft request for proposals, which calls for at least 180 gigawatt hours annually of renewable dispatchable energy and at least 40 megawatts of renewable firm capacity on Maui.
Once the draft is approved by the state Public Utilities Commission, the company will seek proposals as part of a competitive bidding process for a wide array of renewable energy and capacity resources on Maui that includes but is not limited to wind, solar, biomass and biofuels. Standalone energy storage proposals also will be accepted.
This draft request for proposals is the first to procure firm renewable capacity, which is available on demand at all times, unlike variable renewables such as solar and wind.
Hawaiian Electric's first phase of procurement for renewable energy resources began in 2018, followed by a second phase in 2019. From those first two phases of requests for proposals, more than 400 megawatts of variable renewable energy and roughly 2 gigawatt hours per year of energy storage are in development and expected to be in service by 2024 on Maui and Oahu, according to Hawaiian Electric.
This third stage will be open to bids from energy developers locally and globally. Pending approval by the PUC, the first projects are expected to come online no later than the end of 2027.
Participants can join the meeting on Thursday via Microsoft Teams at hawaiianelectric.com/communitymeetings, Hawaiian Electric's Facebook page or at Akaku channel 54. Questions can be posed during the meeting or sent in advance to mauirenewablerfp@hawaiianelectric.com.