Hawaiian Electric announced Monday it is seeking proposals for renewable energy projects on Oahu and Maui. For the first time, the electricity provider is also including requests for the development of firm renewable capacity, which is energy capable of being consistently produced and available at all times.
“This is an opportunity to significantly boost the share of renewable energy on our grids and help Hawaii's efforts to reduce carbon emissions,” Rebecca Dayhuff Matsushima, vice president of resource procurement for Hawaiian Electric, said in a statement. “Notably, the [requests for proposals] include firm renewable generation, which will add critical reliability to our grids as we continue to retire oil-fired generators.”
The electricity provider is seeking proposals for a variety of intermittent and firm renewable energy and capacity resources, including wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, biofuels and more. Standalone energy storage proposals will also be accepted. While previous RFPs have focused primarily on intermittent resources like solar and wind, the new procurements seek to ensure the Islands have a diverse portfolio of generation resources, according to an announcement from Hawaiian Electric.
On Oahu, Hawaiian Electric is seeking at least 965 gigawatt hours annually of energy that is variable, renewable and dispatchable — meaning the company controls when the resource is used — to be in service by 2027. It is also seeking 300 to 500 megawatts of renewable firm capacity to be in service by 2029, and an additional 200 MW of renewable firm capacity to be in service by 2033.
On Maui, the company is seeking at least 425 GWh annually of variable, renewable and dispatchable energy and at least 40 MW of renewable firm capacity to be in service by 2027.
The first two phases of Hawaiian Electric's RFPs began in 2018 and 2019. This third stage of renewable energy procurement is open to bids from energy developers locally and globally. The requests for proposals, developed alongside the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, were published on Hawaiian Electric’s Competitive Bidding Website.
Hawaiian Electric and affiliate proposals are due April 19, and independent power producer proposals are due April 20, according to the company. Hawaiian Electric will evaluate the proposals and will select a final award group by Oct. 27.
