Hawaiian Electric has recently filed a draft Request for Proposals for the third stage of its renewable energy procurement for Hawaii Island.
The move is in support of the state of Hawaii’s clean energy and decarbonization goals.
“Community engagement is important as we work together to shape our island’s energy future,” Jennifer Zelko-Schlueter, Hawaiian Electric’s director of government and community affairs on Hawaii Island, told Big Island Now. “We value your input and encourage you to get involved and lend your voice to these important conversations about projects that may impact you. A community meeting allows you to learn more about a project, ask questions, and understand energy policy and process. It also gives us an opportunity to understand your perspective and listen to your ideas about solutions that are inclusive and fair.”
Hawaiian Electric began Hawaii’s largest procurement effort for renewable energy resources in 2019 when it “sought approximately 900 megawatts (up to 203 MW on Hawaii Island) of new renewables or renewables paired with storage,” Big Island Now reported.
The company is eyeing a variety of sources, including new renewable dispatchable generation projects (with or without energy storage systems), extensions of existing resources after their current contract terms, standalone energy storage projects and aggregated customer-sited distributed energy resources projects.
According to Big Island Now, Hawaiian Electric is seeking proposals to acquire energy and capacity situated on the eastern portion of Hawaii Island.