Hawaiian Electric selects Plus Power's 185 MW Kapolei Energy Storage Project as part of renewable energy procurement

Plus Power's 185 MW/565 MWh Kapolei Energy Storage project (KES) has been selected by the Hawaiian Electric Companies as part of the utility's transition to renewables. The announcement follows the second phase of a highly competitive RFP process in which Hawaiian Electric selected 16 renewable energy and battery storage projects located across three islands. Plus Power's KES project is located in Kapolei on the island of Oahu and is the largest battery storage project selected by Hawaiian Electric.

The lithium-ion battery project is located on roughly eight acres of land in the Kapolei Harborside industrial project, where it will interconnect at a critical Hawaiian Electric substation. The project will provide load shifting and fast-frequency response services to Hawaiian Electric, enhancing grid reliability and accelerating the integration of readily available renewable energy. The June 2022 completion of the KES project will ensure that the AES coal plant – the last- remaining coal-fired generation in Hawai'i – will end operations in September 2022, supporting the state's goal of shifting from fossil fuels to 100 percent renewable energy generation.

Construction of the Kapolei Energy Storage facility is anticipated to start in summer 2021, subject to approval from the Hawai'i Public Utilities Commission.