State signs off on North Shore wind farm plans

Developer First Wind LLC hopes to have its second project on Oahu generating electricity by next year

By Alan Yonan Jr.  

A second wind project on Oahu's North Shore, designed to be twice as large as the recently completed Kahuku plant, could be producing power as soon as next year.

First Wind LLC has completed an environmental impact statement for a proposed 70-megawatt wind energy project on former sugar cane land northeast of Haleiwa that would be the state's largest, generating enough energy to supply 14,500 homes.

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Kahuku wind farm lands $117M loan guarantee

First Wind Holdings LLC has closed on a $117 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Energy Department to build a wind farm in Kahuku, the federal agency said yesterday.

The 30-megawatt project is being built by Kahuku Wind Power LLC, a unit of Newton, Mass.-based First Wind. The project is expected to create more than 200 jobs, the Department of Energy said in a news release.

The power will be sold to Hawaiian Electric Co., Oahu's only electric utility, under a 20-year contract. First Wind broke ground on the project this month and plans to complete it by early 2011.

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Oahu wind project selects contractor

RMT Inc., an energy and environmental company, has been selected by First Wind to construct its wind-energy facility near Kahuku on Oahu’s North Shore.

Read more: Oahu wind project selects contractor - Pacific Business News (Honolulu)

30-megawatt wind farm breaks ground in Kahuku hills

Oahu is on its way to joining Maui and the Big Island in the effort to harness the state's famous tradewinds.

Today developers will break ground on a wind farm in the hills near Kahuku.

The 30-megawatt project on the North Shore is the first large-scale commercial wind farm on the island and includes several technological advances, such as a battery system that will help smooth out the stability of the electrical load.

The project is being built by Kahuku Wind Power LLC, a unit of Newton, Mass.-based First Wind. The wind farm will feature a dozen state-of-the-art Clipper Liberty wind turbines with a maximum output of 2.5 megawatts each. Based on expected wind speeds at the site, the system will generate an estimated 83 million kilowatt-hours annually, the equivalent of 139,500 barrels of oil.

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Hawaii PUC approves HECO deal with Kahuku wind farm

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission yesterday approved a power purchase agreement between Hawaiian Electric Company and Kahuku Wind Power, HECO said today.

Kahuku Wind Power, a subsidiary of Massachusetts-based First Wind, is scheduled to begin construction of a 12-turbine farm in the hills west of Kahuku later this year.

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