Hawaii approves PPA for 69 MW wind farm

Hawaii PUC approves wind farm contract. The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission has approved a wind energy contract for what will be the largest wind farm in the state. The wind farm includes 30 wind turbines.

The regulators on Tuesday approved an agreement between First Wind and Hawaiian Electric Company for the utility to purchase renewable energy produced by the proposed 69-megawatt Kawailoa Wind Power project on Oahu’s North Shore.

The wind farm includes 30 wind turbines will be built on land above Haleiwa owned by Kamehameha Schools. Construction is scheduled to begin this month and the project is expected to be operating by the end of next year.

Kawailoa Wind Power is a subsidiary of Boston-based First Wind. Under the contract, it will sell renewable energy at pre-determined prices over 20 years. First Wind also operates two other Hawaii wind energy projects.

First Wind is an independent wind energy company exclusively focused on the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of utility-scale wind farm projects in the United States. Based in Boston, First Wind has wind energy projects in the Northeast, the West and in Hawaii, with the capacity to generate up to 735 megawatts of power and projects under construction with the capacity to generate up to an additional 141 megawatts.

By José Santamarta, www.firstwind.com