Massive solar panels north of Waikoloa Village

[macuu222]

Does anyone know what thousands of solar panels north of Waikaloa Village are being used for?  My guess is for the Resort hotels down by the ocean.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

It will be hooked into the HELCO grid, and will come online within the next few months.  Should generate 7% of the Big Island's electricity.

Edited to add news story from last year:
https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2022/...tour-held/

[leilanidude]

They provide shade for the wild goats and sheep.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

shade for the wild goats

So it’s a twofer.  7% of our electricity, and safer west side highways if the panels keep goats off the road.

[terracore]

It will be hooked into the HELCO grid, and will come online within the next few months.  Should generate 7% of the Big Island's electricity.

Edited to add news story from last year:
https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2022/...tour-held/

That gigantic monstrosity is only going to supply 7%?  It's bigger than Pahoa. 

Well then again... it doesn't work at night.  Or much in the mornings and evenings either.

[kalakoa]

Should generate 7% of the Big Island's electricity.

I wonder how much the resorts are consuming.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

It's bigger than Pahoa. 

It replaces over half a million barrels of oil.  Line that up end to end.  Talk about gigantic monstrosities.  


it doesn't work at night.  Or much in the mornings and evenings either.

It’s named Waikoloa Solar + Storage because it has banks of lithium batteries that will provide electricity 24/7.  Enough to power 13,700 Big Island homes.  On lava that can’t be used for farming crops or cattle or much of anything else.

[randomq]

I suspect we're like "July" in the linked chart, with 30-40% higher load during the day.

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=42915

[kalakoa]

30-40% higher load during the day

Consider that peak production for solar panels is a pretty close match to peak consumption for air conditioning.

[TomK]

I suspect we're like "July" in the linked chart, with 30-40% higher load during the day.

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=42915

I would like to see a specific graph for Hawaii because I doubt we follow the mainland trends. It's my experience that mid-August through late September is when we get the hottest temperatures plus a lack of trades and higher humidity. Unlike cities that experience really hot temperatures (e.g., Phoenix, AZ) most homes here don't have A/C because most of the time it's not needed. And most of us don't need to heat our homes during the winter. But obviously moving away from fossil fuels is a good thing. Unless you don't like the look of solar farms but prefer oil refineries and fossil fuel storage instead along with all the fuel trucks. I'm sure some people think they are beautiful.