Tag: battery storage

June 7, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Kahuku wind farm idled during work on battery system

First Wind LLC said it has temporarily idled the turbines at its Kahuku wind energy project while it works on the battery storage system.

The 12 wind turbines were shut down on May 22 and are expected to be brought back online in stages starting later this week, company spokesman John Lamontagne said in an email from the company’s headquarters in Massachusetts.

“We are conducting a diligent and thorough review of the operating issues for the battery facility at the Kahuku project. During that time, the project is offline,” he said.

The 30-megawatt project — Oahu’s only commercial-scale wind farm — began feeding electricity into Hawaiian Electric Co.’s grid in March. The turbines produce enough energy to power about 7,700 homes, according to First Wind. First Wind sells the electricity to HECO at a fixed price of 19.9 cents per kilowatt-hour under a 20-year purchase power agreement.

Kahuku wind farm idled during work on battery system – Hawaii News – Staradvertiser.com

November 5, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Habitat Completes First ‘Off-The-Grid’ Home

Habitat Completes First ‘Off-The-Grid’ Home

Molokai Habitat for Humanity News Release

With the help from Hawaii’s leading residential solar company, RevoluSun, Molokai Habitat for Humanity is pleased to announce the dedication and blessing of its 19th completed home for the Kaai `Ohana. This will be Hawaii Habitat’s first “off-grid” home on Hawaiian Home Lands, as well as the first home built by Molokai Habitat with a renewable energy system.

“We are so excited because this is the first home for Habitat for Humanity nationally that is off-the-grid,” said Emillia Noordhoek, Resource Development Director for Molokai Habitat. “Molokai has the highest cost of living in the state and we are one of the most isolated islands. We wanted to build a home that would be affordable for the family and be best for our ‘aina.”

The journey to this projects completion was one of sweat, love, commitment, and of course, genuine hard work. The high cost to install the house’s electrical infrastructure – quoted by MECO at $30,000 – led to the opportunity of using renewable energy.

It was then that Molokai Habitat realized this was the opportunity they needed to build a simple, decent, and affordable home which included its own renewable energy. How can housing be affordable to the homeowner if the hidden cost of utilities is $300-$500 per month? The blessing and answer to this question came through Oahu’s Solar Contractor RevoluSun.

RevoluSun generously donated their time and labor for the design and installation of the solar system.

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