First Wind and Hawaiian Electric Co. have announced that a request has been filed with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to provide energy to the O'ahu grid from the 20 MW Mililani Solar project near Mililani, O'ahu.
The planned solar PV energy facility is under a 20-year power purchase agreement and will be operated by First Wind.
It will provide cost savings to ratepayers of up to $67 million. Power will be sold to Hawaiian Electric at $0.156/kWh, which is significantly less than Hawaiian Electric's recent cost of generating power of $0.233/kWh, says First Wind.
The power purchase agreement with Hawaiian Electric for the Mililani Solar project supports a mandate set by the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) to achieve 70% of Hawaii's energy through conservation and clean energy sources by 2030 and reduce Hawaii's reliance on imported fossil fuel, says First Wind.
The company says the project is the first in Hawaii to be developed by First Wind's new solar division, First Wind Solar Group, which was established to explore solar energy opportunities near the company's wind projects in Hawaii, the Northeast and the West.
