Hawaiian Electric Co. has revived a contract it ended last year with the owner of a biomass facility.
Hu Honua Bioenergy LLC, a biomass facility on Hawaii island, announced Wednesday it has submitted an amended contract with HECO’s sister utility Hawaii Electric Light Co. to state regulators.
In March 2016, HELCO allowed its contract with Hu Honua to end because Hu Honua failed to meet deadlines and provide assurances that it could be relied upon as a renewable energy provider for the Big Island.
The companies submitted an application on Tuesday with the state Public Utilities Commission requesting approval for HELCO to purchase electricity from the 21.5-megawatt biomass facility for 22.1 cents a kilowatt-hour over a 30-year contract.
Under the previous contract, the utility would have bought electricity from Hu Honua for 28.6 cents a kilowatt-hour over 20 years.
The companies requested the PUC expedite the review and approve the contract before July 3.
Hu Honua would use biomass from tree plantations at its facility.
Pending PUC approval, Hu Honua said it plans to resume construction by the end of 2018 and complete construction within 18 months.
“We are hopeful the PUC will recognize the project’s value in terms of economic benefits and energy stability,” said Rob Robinson, president of Island BioEnergy, Hu Honua’s parent company, in a prepared statement.
Hu Honua said the facility would create more than 200 local construction jobs and employ 30 permanent workers to operate it.
When HELCO let the contract end, it sparked pushback from the company.
Hu Honua questioned whether NextEra Energy Inc., the Florida company that attempted and failed to buy the parent company of HELCO for $4.3 billion, had a role in the cancellation of the project.
HECO ended Hu Honua’s project as well as three utility-scale solar projects on Oahu during state regulators’ review of NextEra’s bid to purchase Hawaiian Electric Industries.
In May 2016, Hu Honua asked the PUC to investigate HELCO.
Hu Honua said it had invested more than $130 million in the facility, with the project about 50 percent complete. Owners of the company said Hu Honua would deliver enough energy to power 14,000 homes.
With Hu Honua’s application waiting on PUC approval, HECO has now attempted to revive all four renewable energy projects it previously canceled.