Construction begins on Hawaii’s largest solar project

Construction is underway on what is expected to be one of the largest solar installations in Hawai‘i and one of the largest solar powered communities in the US, at Hickam Communities at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

The targeted total of four megawatts is expected to produce more than 5.6 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually and help provide power to more than 2,000 military family homes.
That amount is enough to offset more than 260 million pounds of carbon dioxide over its lifetime, the equivalent of taking close to 23,000 cars off the road for a year.
The installations are also expected to create more than 55 green jobs in Hawai’i during the two-year installation period.
Hickam Communities, owned and managed by property solutions provider Lend Lease, is the preferred developer for the Air Force to develop, design, construct, renovate and provide asset and property management for homes at Hickam Air Force Base through 2057.
SolarCity will initially install solar on approximately 600 rooftops at Hickam Communities, with the solar electricity generated helping provide power to more than 2,000 homes currently on base.
Through a 20-year power purchase agreement, SolarCity will engineer, install and maintain the solar systems, which will be interconnected by Hawaiian Electric Company.

Cleaner environment

The project will promote a cleaner environment in Hawai’i and also help the Air Force meet Department of Defense goals to have 25 percent of its energy requirements met by renewable energy by 2025.
“Entering into this power purchase agreement with support from Air Force leadership has given us an opportunity to give back to our families today and into the future,” said Jerry Schmitz, project director of Hickam Communities. “In addition to reducing emissions, money saved can go back into maintaining our community and providing services and programs for our families.”
Hickam Communities will be the second solar-powered community on an Air Force Base in the U.S. In October 2009, Lend Lease and SolarCity announced the first solar-powered community on an Air Force Base in the U.S., and the nation’s largest distributed, community-wide solar power project at Soaring Heights at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.
“Hickam Communities and Lend Lease’s use of renewable, solar energy will have a positive impact on the local environment and island economy,” said SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive. “This project will help reduce the expense and pollution created by imported oil.”
Homes were selected for solar installations based on specific location and suitability for solar panels.