Maui County has announced that Lahaina-based Hawaii Pacific Solar LLC will be selected to install, operate, maintain and own solar voltaic systems that will generate energy to be sold to the county under a power purchase agreement. The systems will cover 18 public sites on Molokai and Maui for a total of 1 megawatt of power. This is a substantial step towards integrating renewable energy sources into Maui County.

The county is the largest generator of solar power on Maui already, and has saved about $10 million via their PV systems. The sites for the new systems will include community centers, water treatment plants, aquatic centers, and fire and police stations. According to Mayor Arakawa, more taxpayer dollars will be saved in the future because the county’s starting price on energy is lower than the Maui Electric Co. rate. This is why Maui home buyers and owners can now afford some optimism about their energy costs. Being as isolated as we are, on an island in the middle of the Pacific, energy came at a higher price than most other states, historically. All that is changing.

One of the factors that made Hawaii Pacific Solar a great choice is because they offered the county a proposal with a price that would drop by 2.75 percent every year for twenty years. They also plan to build microgrid solar PV systems that come with their own battery storage at about five of the 18 facilities, which should help stabilize energy fluctuations. Microgrid systems also continue to operate if the main grid is down, providing emergency energy.

If you’re in the market for a new Maui real estate investment, we’re sure this information will inspire your search. If you need any assistance, you’ll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo for reading, and be sure to check in next week for our latest community or economic update!

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