Gov. Lingle, State and Community Leaders Attend Ceremony to Break Ground for a 30 MW Project That Will Produce Enough Renewable Energy to Power up to 7,700 Oahu Homes HONOLULU--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Wind, an independent U.S.-based wind energy company, held a groundbreaking ceremony today to commemorate the start of construction of its 30 MW Kahuku Wind project, the only utility-scale wind energy project on Oahu and one of the largest in Hawaii. As part of the ceremony, state, local and community leaders joined First Wind at the project site on Oahu’s North Shore to recognize the economic and environmental benefits of the project, which upon completion will have the capacity to generate enough clean, renewable energy to power up to 7,700 Oahu homes each year. “The Kahuku Wind project brings Hawaii another step closer to reducing our state’s dependence on imported foreign oil and increasing our energy security,” said Governor Lingle. “These wind turbines will provide another source of clean energy for Oahu’s power grid, further building on the progress Hawaii has made in becoming a world leader in clean energy.” Located west of Kahuku town in the hills near Charlie Road, the Kahuku Wind project is incorporating innovative technologies. The project will consist of twelve 2.5 MW Clipper Liberty wind turbines. Manufactured in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Liberty turbines are the largest wind turbines manufactured in North America. Kahuku Wind will also include a battery energy storage system to assist in meeting performance standards and smoothing fluctuations in wind energy output. The battery storage system was developed by Xtreme Power, Inc. and will be the largest of its kind in Hawaii. The project will also include a dedicated communication system to connect the wind energy project to Hawaiian Electric Company’s system operations and dispatch center. Once completed, the project will support the ambitious Hawaiian Clean Energy Initiative, which aims to have 70 percent of the state’s energy for electricity and ground transportation come from clean energy by 2030. “Our continued collaboration with First Wind underscores the importance of power management systems in mitigating the variability of wind energy,” said Carlos Coe, CEO of Xtreme Power. “We are excited to work with First Wind on the Kahuku project and look forward seamlessly delivering clean energy to the Hawaiian grid.”
