Schofield Generating Station wins national honor
Release Date: 10/16/2019
HONOLULU, Oct. 16, 2019 – Hawaiian Electric Company’s Schofield Generating Station has been honored with an achievement award from the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies presented annually to those who provide significant contributions to advancing the operations of the electric energy industry.
The award was accepted by Alan Oshima, Hawaiian Electric president and CEO, at the AEIC 135th annual meeting in Naples, Fla.
The 50-megawatt Schofield Generating Station, which came online in June 2018, is a unique technical and financial accomplishment in firm, renewable power generation and an acknowledged model for others. The new plant is making the electric grid on Oahu more resilient, reliable and renewable-ready. It is:
- A joint U.S. Army-Hawaiian Electric project, meeting the military’s energy security needs and on-base renewable energy generation requirement
- Designed and built by Hawaiian Electric to be fuel-flexible, able to use biofuel and contribute to the state’s renewable energy progress
- Able to feed the island grid daily but also to be isolated in emergencies to provide power to military bases with national security and emergency first response responsibilities
- Inland and at elevation, the sole major Oahu power plant safe from climate change vulnerabilities such as rising sea level, storm inundation and tsunamis
The award citation said: “This unique public-private venture, which was constructed under budget and on schedule, required the utility and the Army to overcome significant environmental, permitting, security, regulatory, and other issues.”
Public Works Digest, an unofficial publication of the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, noted: "One great example of innovation in the Army’s energy partnerships is the strategic alliance between the Army and Hawaiian Electric Company for construction of...Schofield Barracks generating station on Oahu, Hawaii, that will run on bio and conventional fuels....Building the power plant on Schofield Barracks land through a long-term lease provides secure and reliable power for the Army’s critical missions on Oahu and supports surrounding communities for a ‘win-win’ strategic partnership."
Founded by Thomas Edison and his associates in 1885, AEIC is one of the oldest organizations in the electric energy industry. AEIC encourages research and the exchange of technical information and best practices through a committee structure, staffed with experts from management of member companies. Since those early meetings, the organization has kept its eyes directed toward the future, expanding its membership internationally, and focusing its energies on finding solutions to problems of mutual concern to electric utilities, worldwide.
