A contested case hearing regarding the Paeahu Solar Project is scheduled to begin Nov. 28 between the Maui Meadows Neighborhood Association and Pono Power Coalition, and Canada-based renewable energy company, Innergex.
The Paeahu Solar Project is a 15 MW solar energy and 60MWh battery storage project, slated to be developed by Innergex on Ulupalakua Ranch land in South Maui. Once completed, it would power approximately 6,900 Maui households, according to Innergex's website.
Pono Power Coalition is comprised of a group of Maui residents who argue that the development of the Paeahu Solar Project at its current location carries potential risks. The group recently launched an initiative called Safe Solar Projects, which "supports solar power but believes it should not have negative impacts," according to Genesis Young, a spokesperson for Pono Power Coalition.
"This project is quite large and is pretty much behind all of Maui Meadows on the slopes of Haleakala — about 250 feet away from residents," Young told PBN. "Whenever you have an electrical installation where there used to be farmland, I think it makes sense that it would most likely increase the risk of fire. Fire is one of the concerns we have about putting an electric generating power plant so close to residents."
Innergex first proposed the project in 2018 and received Public Utilities Commission approval in October 2020. The project was initially supposed to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022, but is currently awaiting approval from the Maui Planning Commission.
Innergex launched an updated site plan on Sept. 21, 2022, including changes to the design of solar arrays, and the relocation of parts of the project to be further from the community. A spokesperson for Innergex was not immediately available to comment on the concern of increased fire risk around the project.
According to Pono Power Coalition, the proposed area for the project's installation is a dry land forest habitat, and large amounts of electricity being generated could lead to increased possibility of an electrical fire. The panels could also continue to generate an electrical current during a fire, which could "make gaining control of a fire more difficult and dangerous," according to a news release from Pono Power Coalition.
"Pono Power is opposing the Paeahu Solar Project because it's in the wrong place, not because we oppose solar," Young said. "There's a climate crisis and we need as much solar as we can so we can stop burning fossil fuels. But that doesn't mean solar should go anywhere. It should be the right place."
The case hearing was supposed to begin on Nov. 8, but Pono Power Coalition and the Maui Meadows Neighborhood Association delayed the proceedings by two weeks, according to a spokesperson for Innergex.
