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The Maui News
Hawaiian Electric is seeking proposals for renewable energy projects on Maui and Oahu, including, for the first time, requests to develop firm renewable capacity on the two islands.
"This is an opportunity to significantly boost the share of renewable energy on our grids and help Hawaii's efforts to reduce carbon emissions," said Rebecca Dayhuff Matsushima, vice president of resource procurement for Hawaiian Electric. "Notably, the RFPs (requests for proposals) include firm renewable generation, which will add critical reliability to our grids as we continue to retire oil-fired generators."
Firm renewable energy differs from intermittent resources such as solar and wind in that it is available at all times. While previous requests for proposals have focused exclusively on intermittent resources, the new procurement seeks to broaden the future generation mix to ensure Maui and Oahu have a diverse portfolio of generation resources, the company said.
Hawaiian Electric is looking for a variety of intermittent and firm renewable energy and capacity resources on both islands that include but are not limited to wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and biofuels. Standalone energy storage proposals also will be accepted.
For Maui, Hawaiian Electric is seeking at least 425 gigawatt hours annually of variable renewable dispatchable energy -- which means the company controls when the resource is used -- as well as at least 40 megawatts of renewable firm capacity to be in service by 2027.
For Oahu, the company is seeking at least 965 GWh annually of variable renewable dispatchable energy to be in service by 2027. It's also looking for 300 to 500 MW of renewable firm capacity by 2029 and an additional 200 MW of renewable firm capacity by 2033.
The company will evaluate the proposals to determine a final award group from which to begin contract negotiations.
These requests for proposals are companions to the Hawaii islands request for proposals that was opened on Nov. 21.
In 2018, Hawaiian Electric began the first phase of Hawaii's largest procurement effort for renewable energy resources to meet the state's 100 percent renewable portfolio standard requirement. The second procurement phase started in 2019.
From those first two phases, nearly 450 MW and roughly 1.7 GWh per year of energy storage are in development on Maui and Oahu and expected to be in service by 2024, with 75 MW and 300 megawatt hours per year of energy storate in commercial operation.
This third state of renewable energy procurement is open to bids from energy developers locally and globally.
For more information, visit Hawaiian Electric's competitive bidding website at hawaiianelectric.com/clean-energy-hawaii/selling-power-to-the-utility/competitive-bidding-for-system-resources.