$25M solar project planned for 2012
by Vanessa Van Voorhis - THE GARDEN ISLAND
'ELE'ELE — Kaua'i’s largest solar farm should be ready to harvest clean energy in 2012 if the county Planning Commission approves the Alexander Baldwin project proposal as expected. A B’s estimated $25 million, 6-megawatt photovoltaic energy facility would be built on 20 acres of A B-owned, industrial-zoned land adjacent to Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative’s Port Allen power plant and a wastewater treatment plant. The land company anticipates two-thirds of the project’s costs will be reimbursed through state and federal subsidies, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which is set to expire at the end of next year.
The energy would be sold to KIUC for 20 cents per kilowatt hour, as outlined in A B’s Power Purchase Agreement with the co-op. A B held a town hall meeting Wednesday at 'Ele'ele School to unveil its preliminary plan and gather community feedback. Aside from representatives from A B and KIUC, attendance was low, despite free pizza. Tom Shigemoto, vice president of A B Properties, started the meeting by saying now is the time to express concerns, not the day of the Planning Commission review. A B provides Kaua'i with 10 percent of its energy needs through its Kalaheo and Wainiha hydropower plants. It also owns two hydropower facilities on Maui. The land company is looking to expand its renewable energy portfolio and believes this solar concept is “absolutely perfect,” Shigemoto said.
The preliminary plans include 25,000 to 30,000 fixed-array panels mounted at an angle onto five- to six-foot posts driven directly into the ground. Coverage over the 20 acres will be approximately 80 percent. In conjunction with the project, KIUC will install two industrial-scale battery stations capable of storing the solar energy for one hour, thereby evening out the energy supply to the grid during times of intermittent production due to periodic cloud cover. KIUC said it will spend $2.4 million for the system.
A B anticipates the panels will last about 25 years, but the electrical components will have to be replaced more frequently. Construction will require an estim11ated 60 employees; however, once constructed, only one employee will be needed to manage the facility.