COURTESY HANWHA Q CELLS
The Kalaeloa Renewable Energy Park consists of 21,000 photovoltaic panels.
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A solar park in Kalaeloa able to generate enough electricity to power 1,000 homes went online Monday.
The Kalaeloa Renewable Energy Park is now feeding power to Hawaiian Electric Co. customers on Oahu, after four years of development and construction. The 5-megawatt solar park on a 20-acre lot next to the Barbers Point Golf Course has 21,000 photovoltaic panels.
Hanwha Q Cells USA, part of the South Korean Hanwha Group, owns the park and will operate the facility for 20 years. Hanwha Q Cells worked with Hunt Cos., Scatec Solar North America, Swinerton Renewable Energy, Hawaiian Electric and PNC Bank on the project.
Hanwha Q Cells said the solar park will produce enough renewable power to prevent nearly 11,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. This is equivalent to removing nearly 38,000 cars from Hawaii’s roads over the 20-year term of the agreement, based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates, the companies said.
"We are proud to be a part of such an important project and are committed to reducing Hawaii’s dependence on imported fossil fuels," said Moon Hwan Cha, president of Hanwha Q Cells, in a statement. "We look forward to operating the Kalaeloa Renewable Energy Park for the next two decades, and supporting a clean and reliable energy future for the people of Hawaii."
The park was developed on land leased from Hunt Cos., which holds the master lease for nearly 540 acres in Kalaeloa on the former Naval Air Station Barbers Point.
The state Public Utilities Commission approved a 20-year power-purchase agreement between the solar park partners and Hawaiian Electric in November 2012. In January the partners broke ground after the Navy completed an environmental assessment.