The West Kauai Energy Project, slated to provide up to 25% of Kauai's power supply, was issued a finding of 'no significant impact' by the State Department of Land and Natural Resources Tuesday. This follows a recent review of a final environmental assessment submitted by Kauai Island Utility Cooperative. The story was first broken by Kauai Now.
WKEP, which is being developed by global energy company AES in partnership with KIUC, is a pumped-storage hydro and irrigation project coupled with solar and battery storage. Upon completion, it's slated to boost the Island's renewable portfolio standard above 80%, as previously reported by PBN.
The project has a 65-year long water lease to divert a multi-year rolling average of 11 million gallons of water a day into the Kokee Ditch Irrigation System from the Waiakoali, Kawaikoi, Kauaikinana, and Kokee streams, according to a draft environmental assessment published Aug. 15.
“The [finding of no significant impact] is a significant milestone for the project and for Kauai’s quest for energy independence and greenhouse gas emission reductions,” KIUC President and CEO David Bissell said in a statement. “The environmental review process has taken four years to complete, and the final assessment contained thousands of pages of documentation. KIUC thanks the public for input on the project and we look forward to continuing our dialog with the community as WKEP progresses.”
Next steps for WKEP involve seeking land agreements and required permits, according to Bissell, with a goal of bringing the project operational by 2026. A KIUC spokesperson previously told PBN in 2021 that it was targeting full completion by the end of 2025.
The Final Environmental Assessment is expected to be published Jan. 8, 2023 by the Office of Environmental Quality Control on its website.
