With some of Maui’s largest fossil fuel-powered energy producers soon to retire and three proposed renewable energy projects no longer moving forward, Hawaiian Electric officials said now is a crucial time to ensure replacement resources are “lined up.”

“We want to make sure we are figuring out ways to get some new resources available and get them in the pipeline, get them online so that when we do reach (the years) ’27 or ’28, we are talking about closing Kahului (Power Plant) and we are turning off the machines at Maalaea, that we have the replacement resources lined up,” HECO’s Jim Kelly said at a community meeting Thursday night at the company’s auditorium in Kahului.

“We can’t wait until 2025 or 2026 and say ‘oh boy we’re running short, we better start building something’ because it just doesn’t happen like that,” added Kelly, HECO’s vice president of government and community relations and corporate communications.

He explained that “the easiest type of renewable project,” a utility-scale solar project with battery storage, could take five years “if everything goes perfectly,” which is why it’s crucial to start the discussion now.

HECO has been pushing for more renewable energy projects to come forward as it moves toward the state’s goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.

But on Maui, only three out of six renewable projects selected in 2019-2020 remain on the books.

The most recent to drop out was Potentia Renewables’ Kamaole Solar in March. The project would have been a 40-megawatt solar photovoltaic energy project paired with a 160 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.

Another project no longer moving forward is Innergex’s Kahana Solar project, slated to be a 20-MW, single-axis tracker solar PV coupled system with an 80-MWh battery energy storage system. It dropped out on Dec. 30.

Also dropping out was Longroad Development Co.’s Pulehu Mauka Solar project, which would have been a 40-MW system, with a battery energy storage system of 160 MWh.

Shayna Decker, a Hawaiian Electric spokesperson, said Friday that the projects withdrew “because of pricing and supply chain issues.”

The only project rolling currently is AES Kuihelani Solar, which is under construction. It is a 60-MW solar photovoltaic system, with a 240-MWh battery energy storage system, which would make it the largest solar project on Maui. It’s scheduled to be completed by the end of the year, Kelly said.

HECO’s Waena Battery Energy Storage System is awaiting PUC approval. It will be a 40-MW system, with a 160-MWh battery energy storage system.

Kelly said if it is approved this year, then it could be in service by maybe 2025.

He added that Paeahu Solar is pending, as there have been some legal challenges and permitting issues. The project would be a 15-MW system with 60-MWh battery storage.

Kelly said HECO is seeking renewable projects such as solar, wind and batteries. It is also seeking 40 MW of firm renewable energy that is available 24 hours, seven days a week.

The utility is also looking to get 55 MW of rooftop solar with batteries.

HECO wants “to get all of this online by 2027,” so they have things ready to go in case four generators at Maalaea Power Plant need to be shut down, Kelly said.

Last year Mitsubishi, which supplies spare parts for the four units at Maalaea, told HECO that it may not be able to provide them in the future. The units are about 40 years old, Kelly said.

There are some parts on hand to do “overhauls,” and maybe some additional parts HECO can get.

“But as we move to the ending of the decade, it’s looking like we’re not going to be able to get the parts to do overhauls after that. So we are kind of assuming the worse,” Kelly said.

They are still looking around to see what can be done, but HECO needs to start planning with the assumption that the units will not run in 2030, he said.

Then there is the fate of the Kahului Power Plant, which is scheduled to close by the end of 2027. There could be an extension to have it open one more year after, Kelly added.

Hawaiian Electric for years has been planning to retire the fossil fuel-reliant Kahului Power Plant for good as the state moves toward its renewable energy goal.

Environmentalists have also wanted to see the plant closed.

* Staff writer Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.