Hawaiian Electric is abandoning a solar project in South Maui that the company once hoped would supply power to nearly 7,000 homes.
The plan first proposed in 2018 was to build a solar-plus-storage system with a Canadian company named Innergex. The project called for a 15-megawatt solar array and a 60-megawatt-hour battery storage system on 200 acres leased from Ulupalakua Ranch.
The two companies announced they are terminating their agreement because of what Hawaiian Electric called “lengthy delays resulting from the developerʻs legal challenges and pandemic-related cost and supply-chain issues.”
“It’s unfortunate we aren’t able to move forward with Paeahu Solar, which was a key component of Hawaiian Electric’s effort to retire fossil fuel generators on Maui, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize customer costs,” said Mike DeCaprio, vice president of power supply for Hawaiian Electric, in a news release.
“Maui is facing critical deadlines for bringing on new resources by the end of the decade and the loss of Paeahu and other projects is concerning," DeCaprio said.
The state Public Utilities Commission approved a power purchase agreement in 2020, but the project faced opposition from groups that said it could increase flooding in the area and cause other environmental damage.
In a statement, Hawaiian Electric said that while the PUC has approved five solar and energy storage projects for Maui over the past five years, only one is moving forward with construction.
The company must retire its oil-fired Kahului Power Plant by the year 2028 to meet environmental regulations.
That date has already been pushed back from 2024.
