The developer of an 11,750-home community planned for farmland in Ewa has proposed including a utility-scale solar energy project that would provide enough power to serve about 10 percent of the homes.
Honolulu-based Hoku Solar would build the 5-megawatt photovoltaic project adjacent to the Ho‘opili development proposed by the local Schuler Division of Texas-based developer D.R. Horton, the companies announced Wednesday.
Ho‘opili, which would be comparable in size to Mililani or Hawaii Kai, must receive government approval before Schuler can proceed. The state Land Use Commission has scheduled a series of hearings starting today on Schuler’s request to have the land for Ho‘opili reclassified to urban from agricultural.
In addition to the nearly 12,000 homes, the $4.6 billion project would include five public schools and 3 million to 4 million square feet of commercial space. Schuler’s plan also designates 251 acres within the 1,533-acre Ho‘opili site for commercial farming, community gardens and home gardens. Just over 40 acres would be devoted to the solar project.
Hoku officials said the solar project would generate 9 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, or enough energy to provide energy for 1,250 homes using an average of 600 kilowatt hours of electricity per month.
If constructed as envisioned, the solar project would feature tracking technology that keeps the PV panels pointed toward the sun, thereby improving production by 20 percent or more when compared with fixed-panel systems, according to Hoku. Hoku also is considering an option of including some concentrated PV arrays that will allow the footprint of the project to be reduced.
"The solar farm not only fits into Ho‘opili’s vision of being an environmentally aware community, but should offset daytime electricity demand from other sources," said Cameron Nekota, vice president of D.R. Horton-Schuler Division.
In addition to the solar farm, D.R. Horton-Schuler Division is considering designing the single-family homes at Ho‘opili with roofs that are PV-ready.
