wiUSA December 2013

INDEX MAKING THENEWS

Hawaii solar farm After a blessing and groundbreaking ceremony, construction has begun on Kauai Island Utility Cooperative’s $40 million, 12MW solar energy facility on Kauai's South Shore. The solar photovoltaic development is beingbuilt onnearly70acresof former sugar cane field land near Koloaand is scheduled for completion in 2014. Consisting of 45,000 panels, the site will contribute around five percent of the island’s electricity demand. The project is the second largest utility-scale solar facility to be built on Kauai; the 6MW Port Allen solar farm opened in 2012 and two smaller systems, a 1MW array in Kapaa and a 300kW array in Omao, also provide power to the grid. KIUC said that when the Koloa solar project is completed, it will generate 19MW during the day, enough power to meet nearly 30 percent of the island’s daytime electricity demands.

customers, not just those who can afford to install their own PV systems,” KIUC board chairman Allan Smith said in a statement. “Using this system saves us from importing about 1.7 million gallons of oil annually.” The net cost of electricity generated by the solar energy facility will be between 10 cents and 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour, far below the present cost of oil at around 23 cents per kilowatt hour, KIUC said.

*Picture: From left, Jon Yoshimura of SolarCity; Arryl Kaneshiro of Grove Farm; Kauai mayor, Bernard Carvalho Jr; Kauai Island Utility Cooperative CEO and president, David Bissell; Kumu Sabra Kauka; KIUC board chairman Allan Smith; and vice chairman Jan TenBruggencate at the blessing and groundbreaking ceremony. Photo courtesy of Kauai Island Utility Cooperative

“By owning this project, the benefits of cheap, clean solar are shared by all of our

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wiredInUSA - December 2013