Hawaiian Electric announced it is building the island of Maui’s first large standalone load-shifting battery energy storage system. The Waena BESS will enable the planned retirement of four generating units at the utility’s Kahului Power Plant, an oil power plant.
Approved by the Public Utilities Commission in December 2023, the Waena BESS will be a grid-connected 40-MW/160-MWh battery energy storage system that will be located at the company-owned property along Pulehu Road in Central Maui. The Waena BESS is part of the company’s overall plans to reduce its overall carbon footprint and to use renewable resources to generate 100% of electricity by 2045. Currently, 41% of Maui County’s electricity comes from renewables.
Anticipated to come online by 2027, the Waena BESS will be tied into the company’s Waena Switchyard and will have the capability to serve as energy-shifting resource that can store and dispatch large-scale renewable resources as needed.
The Waena Switchyard and Waena BESS are an integral phase in the retirement of Kahului Power Plant’s four steam-generating units that currently provide power and system stability on the island’s transmission system.
News item from Hawaiian Electric
Isn’t this site considered to be in a tsunami inundation zone? It’s a great project but with sea levels potentially rising up to 12 ft and poss more this would make the central Maui site in danger from tsunamis and potential rising sea levels. So glad that they are looking ahead and will retire the current plant!