To further Hawaii's transition to clean energy and to reduce carbon emissions, Hawaiian Electric is seeking information from owners of land on Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii Island who are interested in making their land available for future renewable energy projects that will benefit all electric customers.
Through its Hawaii Powered initiative, Hawaiian Electric has been working with communities across its five-island service territory to identify potential locations for future grid-scale renewable projects. An analysis of renewable energy potential for solar and wind was completed and shared with communities to seek their input. This request for information (RFI) is the next step and will help the company gain a better understanding of landowners' perspectives on what land may potentially be suitable and available.
Hawaiian Electric is seeking information on parcels of land at least one acre or larger for future development of grid-scale renewable energy projects or system support equipment for the electric grid such as substations. Through this RFI, landowners have the opportunity to express their interest in having their land be a part of Hawaii's clean energy future.
"Space, especially open land parcels which we recognize are in limited supply in the islands, is essential for renewable projects that can help Hawaii gain energy independence," said Rebecca Dayhuff Matsushima, vice president of Resource Procurement for Hawaiian Electric. "This land RFI will help us better plan for grid infrastructure needs and maximize land availability while taking into account the input earlier provided by communities throughout the islands. By identifying potential sites, we hope to speed the process for both owners and prospective developers so these needed renewable projects can be built."
To participate, landowners can provide basic property and contact information to Hawaiian Electric as specified in the RFI, available at www.hawaiianelectric.com/2023landRFI. Responses are requested by April 15, 2023.
This land RFI is open in parallel with separate calls to developers for renewable project proposals announced in the past few months, in which Hawaiian Electric is seeking procurement of firm renewable energy on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island. The information sought in this land RFI will be used for future procurements and is not intended to inform the three current procurements.
Creating more grid-scale and customer-owned renewable energy projects will help Hawaii reach its clean energy goals while also helping Hawaiian Electric fulfill its Climate Change Action Plan commitment to reduce carbon emissions from power generation 70% by 2030. Clean energy projects also help reduce and stabilize electricity costs for all customers, and speed economic recovery by attracting investors, contributing to job creation, and encouraging local innovation.
