A proposed solar development near Waikoloa will be taking public feedback at a virtual meeting this evening.
The Ke‘amuku Solar + Storage project is a proposed solar farm that would be built on a pair of parcels just south of the intersection between Mamalahoa Highway and Waikoloa Road. While the two parcels are together have an area of more than 1,000 acres, the project footprint is currently estimated at 525 acres.
However, according to the project website, AES Hawaii hopes to condense the project site even more as the design phase continues, based on ongoing community feedback. Developed by utility company AES Hawaii, the project’s solar array would would supply approximately 86 megawatts of power to the island’s power grid, alongside a 344 megawatt-hour lithium-ion battery storage system.
All told, the facility could generate about 20% of the energy needs of the entire Big Island, enough to power more than 35,000 homes, according to the project’s website.
The facility would interface with the existing Hawaiian Electric grid through a new substation to be built immediately adjacent to the existing Ke‘amuku substation near Waimea. Ke‘amuku Solar would sell power to HECO through a 25-year power purchase agreement.
After that agreement expires, the land would be returned to its natural conditions.
The project location is down Waikoloa Road makai from AES Hawaii’s existing Waikoloa Solar + Storage project, a similar development that began operations in 2023. That project generates up to 30 megawatts of power, with an additional 120 megawatt-hours of storage across 300 acres of land, and also has a 25-year power purchase agreement with HECO.
Currently, the project is still in its design phase, with approvals and permits still pending from Hawaii County and the state. A preliminary review has determined that the project does not require the drafting of an environmental assessment or impact statement, although it is expected to require a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit and to comply with the State Historic Preservation Division.
The permitting process is expected to extend through 2026, with construction to begin in 2027. The project is expected to begin operations in 2030, which is when the 25-year term of the power purchase agreement would begin.
According to AES Hawaii, the company intends to engage with the public throughout all stages of the process, hence today’s meeting. Project members will provide an overview of the project and answer attendees’ questions via Zoom beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Online attendees are encouraged to RSVP for the meeting by email at keamukusolar@aes.com. The Zoom meeting can be reached at tinyurl.com/mrx45syn.
Representatives of AES Hawaii did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
