Utility Dive: Pioneering 565-MWh battery storage facility now online in Hawai’i, Plus Power says

Written By Peter Kelley

Energy storage developer Plus Power has begun operating its 185 MW/565 MWh Kapolei Energy Storage facility on Oahu, Hawai’i, part of the state’s strategy to replace a 180 MW AES coal plant that was retired in September 2022, the company announced Thursday.

The battery facility will also help increase the efficiency of the existing thermal fleet, according to Plus Power. “It’s the first time a battery has been used by a major utility to balance the grid: providing fast frequency response, synthetic inertia, and black start. This project is a postcard from the future — batteries will soon be providing these services, at scale, on the mainland,” Brandon Keefe, Plus Power’s executive chairman, said in a statement.

According to modeling from Hawaiian Electric, the facility will help reduce the company’s renewable energy curtailment by 69% and integrate 10% more utility-scale renewables into its system in the first five years that it is online. 
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Peter Kelley
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