The Big Island says Aloha to more solar power

AES Hawai'i has successfully launched a new 42 MW solar-plus-storage facility on Hawaii's Big Island, a challenging project that included drilling into some extremely hard volcanic rock.

By Robin Brunet

What could be more logical than advancing solar energy in a corner of the world famous for its sunshine, Hawaii? There, the Waikoloa Solar + Storage project is fulfilling key long-term objectives for Hawai‘i Island residents and represents the first project on this island delivered to Hawaiian Electric by AES Hawai‘i —which, as part of the AES Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is dedicated to accelerating the future of greener, smarter energy solutions.

Still, there were considerable challenges bringing the 42 MW project to life in the land of paradise. Hawai‘i, also known as the Big Island, is the youngest and largest island in the Hawaiian chain and contains all but four of the world’s different climate zones, from wet tropical to polar tundra. Therefore, considerable effort was necessary to find the ideal locale for the solar farm.

Also, the volcanic rock comprising the island meant that extensive drilling was necessary to install the solar arrays. Additionally, as with so many construction projects in the 50th state, located 2,000 miles from the U.S. mainland, materials shipments had to be carefully

co-ordinated. 

Bringing the Waikoloa Solar + Storage project to completion took four-and-a-half years, including design and engineering, permitting and governmental approvals, and construction.

“But thanks to the perseverance of our team and support from organizations such as Hawaiian Electric, the facility will improve the environment by eliminating more than 511,000 barrels of oil to generate electricity over its 25-year lifespan,” says Sandra Larsen, President of AES Hawai‘i.

Kellin Walker, Senior Project Manager for AES Clean Energy, adds: “Hawaiian Electric as well as the entire county of Hawai'i were 100 percent on board with this project, which greatly facilitated the permitting, inspection and reviews processes. A genuine collaborative spirit underscored the entire development and construction phases.”

Hawai‘i, also known as the Big Island, is the youngest and largest island in the Hawaiian chain and contains all but four of the world’s different climate zones, from wet tropical to polar tundra, so considerable effort was necessary to find the ideal locale for the Waikoloa Solar + Storage project.

AES Hawai‘i, which has been providing safe and reliable energy to the islands since the 1980s, is focused on supporting the state as it aims to transition to 100 percent renewable power generation by 2045. Some of its more significant projects include the 30 MW HELCO AES Waikoloa Solar farm in Waikoloa Village; the 24 MW Na Pua Makani wind farm in Kahuku; and the 20 MW Lawa’i Solar and Storage facility in Lawa’i. 

It has been estimated that the company’s renewables projects will cumulatively contribute to the reduction of over 470 metric tons of CO2 annually and over 30 million barrels of fossil fuel over the projects’ lifecycles.

Partnerships have been the key to AES Hawai‘i’s success: typically, its renewable energy agreements with local utilities span a 20 to 25-year period, enabling landowners of the project sites to benefit as they receive guaranteed lease payments for that period; and at the end of each project’s lifecycle, the land is returned to its existing condition, allowing the owner the full use of the property.
For the Waikoloa Solar + Storage facility, Larsen notes that “Our land acquisition team took great care selecting the location, which was on 300 acres along Waikoloa Road amid miles of open land. This particular region is sunny most of the year, and there isn’t much agricultural activity due to the proximity of volcanic rock.”

Another advantage of the site for AES was that it had roughly four miles of interior access roads with accompanying drainage swales. 

Larsen adds that the proposal for the 42 MW facility was strongly endorsed by Hawaiian Electric, “because in addition to powering 13,000 homes, it would mitigate power outages and other grid challenges on the island. Residents were also keen because they would ultimately see a reduction of $5 in their monthly energy bills for each household.”

It was determined that 93,632 panels in total would comprise the solar farm, augmented by a battery storage system with an integrated direct injection fire suppression/thermal runaway management system contained within each enclosure. The enclosures of this system were provided by CEN Solutions of Spain, while the 12,480 batteries required for Waikoloa Solar’s energy output magnitude were Samsung E4Ls.

Walker recalls, “We ultimately selected 20,496 Jinko 455W PV panels along with 1,008 Jinko 460W panels.” Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. is a powerhouse in the photovoltaic sector: the company pioneered the vertical integration capacity from silicon wafer and cell to module production, and it owns 14 globalized manufacturing bases in China, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the U.S.

Walker continues, “For inverters, we went with GPTech AMPS WD3, 13 of them in all, and made in Spain.” Since 2006, GPTech has gained a reputation for providing a source of reactive power control with the finest response to meet grid requirements all the time; the AMPS is considered to be one of the most demanded products in energy storage internationally.

As for racking, AES chose the Soltec SF7 Single Axis Tracker. “Its design was ideal for the undulating terrain that characterizes our site,” Walker explains. The SF7 has been described as the most advanced two-in-portrait (2P) vertical tracker on the market, self-powered thanks to its dedicated module, which translates into a lower cost operating power supply and faster start-up than with other solar trackers.

As with so many construction projects in the 50th state, located 2,000 miles from the U.S. mainland, materials shipments had to be carefully coordinated. Also, the volcanic rock comprising the island meant that extensive drilling was necessary to install the solar arrays.

Other benefits of the SF7s include 46 percent fewer batteries per MW, 15 percent fewer parts and another 15 percent fewer screws per battery. Likewise, its installation period is short, which optimizes overall construction time and labor—aspects that enable a significant reduction in the final cost of an installation.

“We needed 1,877 of the SF7s, and this meant 10,450 piles had to be driven, of which about 70 percent required pre-drilling,” Walker explained.

He describes the terrain on site as “extremely hard rock. We call it blue rock, and it’s essentially basalt. The pile depths ranged from 6 to 7 feet deep, and it was quite a laborious operation.” At peak, 200 people were working on the site, which had been augmented with new access roads for easier installation. “We also built a substation and switchyard to tie everything into the grid,” Walker says.

Given that the project broke ground in April 2021, it was almost inevitable that challenges would be posed due to the COVID lockdowns, and in this case the challenge pertained to supply chain issues. “What happened was we were about 30 percent into the panel installation process when U.S. customs withheld shipments of our original PV panels,” Walker recalls.

	Since the completion of construction and commercial launch of the Waikoloa Solar + Storage facility, the island of Hawai‘i is now producing 54 percent of its energy from renewable sources, and AES Hawai‘i has been awarded a new solar project in the region.

“To make a long story short, customs required us to prove that the silica in the Jinko panels wasn’t from a certain region in China—and since this would have been too laborious a task to undertake, we decided to delay construction and hunt for a new supplier, right in the middle of the pandemic.”

Fortunately, thanks to the reliability of contacts AES had established over the years, the delay lasted only several weeks, and panels from ZNShine Solar were ultimately procured—specifically, 72,128 ZNShine 450W PV panels. While ZNShine is also China-based (Changzhou), its products raised no issues with U.S. customs, and deliveries to Hawai’i Island were as efficient as possible under the lockdown restrictions.

As for accessing manpower during COVID, “We had no problem: the local labor unions really came through,” Walker says. “The construction process lasted just under three-and-a-half years to when we put power into the grid, and it’s due to the perseverance of our team that our project came on line when others that had begun roughly at the time we did were still in development.”

Given that one reason for the project was to help mitigate the impact of future blackouts as a result of natural disasters or extreme weather conditions, AES Hawai‘i supplemented Hawaiian Electric’s grid in December 2022 by providing energy from the Waikoloa Solar + Storage project ahead of full commercial launch. This was in response to an emergency situation when power was knocked out for many customers.

Also, given AES’s commitment to protecting local environments, in January 2023, Hawaiian Electric employees joined AES Hawaii‘i employees for a service project planting native Hawaii‘i trees of ‘a‘ali‘i, ‘i‘weoweo, ohe makai, and wiliwili in support of a partnership between AES Hawai‘i and the non-profit Waiki‘loa Dry Forest Initiative. The 275-acre conservation area is located next to the Waikoloa solar facility. AES Hawai‘i adopted an acre of the forest, planted 300 native Hawai‘i trees, and supports educational programs teaching students about the importance of reforestation and protecting the environment on Hawai‘i Island.

Since the commercial launch of the Waikoloa Solar + Storage facility, the island of Hawai‘i is now producing 54 percent of its energy from renewable sources, and AES Hawai‘i has been awarded a new solar project in the region. “We’re still in negotiations with Hawaiian Electric regarding the power purchase agreement and expect this project to reach fruition in 2030,” Larsen says.

As for the Waikoloa project, Larsen concludes, “The environmental benefits of the facility are the result of the hard work of an incredibly dedicated team. We also appreciate our continued collaboration with Hawaiian Electric and the shared vision we have for wanting to make Hawai’i Island a better place for future generations to grow and thrive.” 

Q3 2024