LIHUE (AP) — Kauai Island Utility Cooperative is poised to build a second 12-megawatt solar power generating facility and could begin construction next year when it signs a lease with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
LIHUE (AP) — Kauai Island Utility Cooperative is poised to build a second 12-megawatt solar power generating facility and could begin construction next year when it signs a lease with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
The Garden Island reported the project cleared a hurdle when the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service issued a “Finding of No Significant Impact” for the Anahola Solar Project. The Hawaiian Homes Commission in September voted unanimously to accept the environmental assessment.
The proposed $50 million project along Kuhio Highway would consist of a 53-acre photovoltaic facility, a 5-acre service station and a substation.
The facility is projected to generate more than 23,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year and replace 1.7 million gallons of oil.
The project has been criticized for using Hawaiian homelands for something other than homes.