A wind farm received a couple of major approvals Friday in its effort to continue operating along the Maalaea slopes of the West Maui Mountains after Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen and state Sen. Glenn Wakai, chair of the Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, both backed the project.

Kaheawa Wind Power LLC received approval Friday for a 25-year lease from the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. The board also approved a habitat conservation plan for Kaheawa Wind Farm I with measures to lessen its impact on threatened and endangered species, including nene, Hawaiian hoary bats and Hawaiian yellow-faced bees.

The wind farm has been in operation since 2006. It is in the process of negotiating a power purchase agreement with Hawaiian Electric before seeking approval for its continued operation from the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. The current agreement is set to expire in mid-2026.

The Kaheawa site includes 20 wind turbines and generates 30 megawatts of electricity for Maui. In a letter to the board dated Jan. 20, Wakai said approving the lease will ensure the continued operation of an important source of renewable energy.

“Many of the island’s fossil-fuel units are retiring, and Hawaiian Electric has stated publicly that Maui faces a near-term blackout risk as existing resources decline faster than replacement,” Wakai said.

According to Pamela Tumpap, president of the Maui Chamber of Commerce, the wind farm is essential to keeping Maui’s lights on with affordable sustainable energy.

“Kaheawa Wind Power I lowers energy cost and strengthens Maui’s grid reliability,” Tumpap said.

Bissen said the wind farm has provided dependable energy to an estimated 17,000 Maui households for nearly two decades and has done so as one of the island’s most cost-effective sources of electricity.

“Preserving that contribution is in the clear interest of our community,” Bissen said in a letter dated Jan. 22.

The board’s approval of the habitat conservation plan came with support from the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife.

Operating under state-approved conservation plans, the wind farm has helped to develop nene pens at Haleakala Ranch on Maui and Pu’u O Hoku Ranch on Molokai to offset birds killed at the Kaheawa site. To offset its impact on the hoary bat, the wind farm has proposed to establish habitats on Molokai and Lanai.

Wind farm senior biologist Molly Stephenson said Kaheawa Wind is looking for other locations on Maui to provide habitat for hoary bats.

The wind farm is also planning to conduct a survey of endangered Hawaiian yellow-faced bees.

Forestry Division administrator David Smith said state conservationists had little information about the Hawaiian hoary bats and yellow-faced bees when they reviewed endangered species at Kaheawa in 2006.

“Since that time, we found out that bats are actually pretty widespread and somewhat abundant,” Smith said after the meeting.

Smith said it was while state conservationists were looking at the recent application that they realized there were potential issues with native bees, and they started looking at the biology and ecology of the bees.

According to the wind farm, it does not plan to expand its footprint but will invest tens of millions of dollars during the duration of the 25-year lease. The wind farm plans to pay a lease rent of $300,000 or 3.5% of gross revenues annually, whichever is greater. It also will pay for acquiring a removal bond insuring up to $33.7 million if the project is abandoned.