Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO) and the University of Hawaii together are going to work on a battery energy storage project at the university’s cancer center and medical school in Honolulu, Pacific Business News reports.
It will be a project designed to test if storage can help the university save money by reducing or avoiding charges associated with peak demand, which would also help HECO manage its grid more effectively.
As per the reports, the costs of the project will be shared between HECO and the vendor, Green Charge Networks. Hawaii is having some of the highest electric rates in the nation, has set a target of relying 100% on renewable resources by 2045.
The state has been overwhelmed by solar power being generated by rooftop installations to the extent that HECO the state’s main utility, is concerned about grid stability. This has resulted in the repeal of net metering in the state and a growing interest in energy storage.
Just before some days, Tesla brought online a 13-MW, 52-MWh solar-plus-storage project. And in September, HECO installed a 1-MW storage system at an industrial park on Oahu.
Though there is some progress, storage in Hawaii is still in the early stages. The University of Hawaii project is a pilot program. “As with any ‘pilot,’ the plan is determined by how the project works,” HECO spokesman Peter Rosegg said in a statement, “It is still being reviewed by engineers, so total cost and schedule are yet to be determined.”
