Wind and Storage Project Advances
Many eyes will be on Hawaii as an innovative wind project took yet another step toward completion. An innovative project that will employ an energy storage technology just received its federal loan guarantee.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has finalized a $117 million loan guarantee for the Kahuku Wind Power project. The 30-megawatt wind power plant is located on the island of Oahu.
The project is expected to be the first to meet reliability requirements for wind and solar energy set by Hawaiian Electric Company, the only electric utility operating on Oahu. The company hopes the integration of these energy technologies results in increased generation and wind energy expansion.
With oil-fired generation powering the islands, this is one of the more interesting labs for integrating wind energy and storage.
The Kahuku wind power plant uses 12 2.5-megawatt Liberty wind turbine generators manufactured by Clipper Windpower. It also has a 10-megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS) manufactured by Xtreme Power Inc. DOE says the BESS will modulate and smooth fluctuations in power output caused by changes in wind levels.
First Wind Holdings, LLC, built and currently operates Hawaii's largest wind energy facility, the 30-megawatt Kaheawa Wind project in Maui. Kaheawa Wind serves 9 percent of Maui's annual electricity needs.
Including this loan, the DOE's Loan Programs Office has closed or offered conditional commitments for loan guarantees for 13 clean energy projects. DOE had offered a conditional loan guarantee in March, which led to financial commitments from the private sector.
The power will be sold to Hawaiian Electric Co. under a 20-year power purchase agreement. First Wind broke ground on the project in July and is expected to complete the project by early 2011.
With the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative aiming for 70 percent renewable energy by 2030, this is one more step in reaching that goal.
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