Land Use Commission

SP21-412 Mahi Solar Project

Mahi Solar, LLC (Petitioner) proposes to construct a 120-megawatt (MW) solar energy generation facility, a 480-megawatt-hour battery energy storage facility to address peak energy demand, and accessory support infrastructure and uses (together referred to as the Project) on 620.0 acres (Petition Area).  The Project was selected as part of the Hawaiian Electric Company’s (HECO) Stage 2 renewable energy projects.  The contract with HECO is expected to last 25 years with an option to extend 10 years for a total Project operational life of 35 years.  The time period for the Special Use Permit (SUP) will include two years for permitting and construction and another two years for decommissioning of the Project at the end of the operational life, for a total of 39 years.

The Petition Area (Exhibit 1) is spread across five general Project areas (Areas 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) which currently are configured in the initial Project design as 12 non-contiguous solar array areas (SAAs) [1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3, 4A, 4B, 4C (two sites), and 5 9three sites)].  The Project will primarily consist of roughly 370,000 ground-mounted photovoltaic (PC) panels installed on 4,300 single-axis trackers aligned in a north-south direction.  The trackers will rotate in order to follow the sun during the day to maximize solar exposure.

The Commission heard the Petition on September 9, 2021, and held an Adoption of Order hearing on September 17, 2021.