Hawaii utilities rank high nationally for energy storage
Release Date: 8/8/2019
HONOLULU, August 8, 2019 – Hawaii Electric Light Company ranked seventh and Hawaiian Electric Company was eighth nationally for connecting the most energy storage per customer to their grids in 2018, earning spots on the annual Top 10 utility industry list compiled by the national nonprofit Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA).
Energy storage is essential to increasing renewable energy in the islands, allowing excess solar electricity generated during the day to be available for use either when the sun is no longer shining or to support grid reliability.
Hawaii Electric Light connected 95.2 watts per customer and Hawaiian Electric added 76.3 watts per customer in 2018. Kauai Island Utility Cooperative led the category with 3,037.6 watts per customer.
Hawaiian Electric Company also placed ninth nationally for annual megawatt-hours of electric storage with 23.3 MWh added in 2018. KIUC placed second with 102.0 MWh.
“The people of Hawaii and their utilities have long been national leaders in adding solar generation per customer and now continues among leaders nationally in solar storage, a key element to making solar power work for all customers," said Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president for business development and strategic planning and a member of the SEPA board of directors.
We are proud to still rank high as many other utilities have added renewable generation and energy storage. We will continue dramatically increasing both as we move closer to 100 percent clean energy for our state by 2045 or earlier,” Alberts said.
Julia Hamm, SEPA president and CEO, said: “The utilities in the Top 10 are truly spearheading the progress we’ve seen in the electric sector this past year …It goes beyond just energy storage – they are implementing replicable business models and paving the way to a clean and modern energy future, something that won’t be possible without utilities’ leadership and cooperation.”
The 12th Annual Utility Market Survey collected information from over 500 utilities across the country. Full Top 10 listings are online at https://sepapower.org/2019-top-10-winners/.
