Skip to main content
Home
Outage map Outage Map
SmartHub
Co-op Connections
Stay Connected
Menu
  • COVID-19

    Walk-in service will be temporarily discontinued until further notice. Payments can be made via mail, phone and online via SmartHub. For electric service or other inquiries, please call 246.4300 during normal business hours or email us at info@kiuc.coop. We appreciate your understanding as we prioritize safety along with providing reliable service.  

    Read more »

  • Home
  • About KIUC
    • About Us
    • Annual Reports
    • Bylaws
    • Employment Information
    • Energy Information
    • Financials
    • Strategic Plan
    • Tariffs
    • Request for Proposals/Qualifications
  • Member Services
  • Renewables
  • News
  • Board
  • Community
  • Outage Map

Renewables

KIUC is making significant progress toward its goal of using renewable resources to generate 70 percent of Kauai’s power by 2030.

In 2019, more than 56 percent of the electricity generated on Kauai came from a mix of renewable resources: solar, hydropower and biomass. That’s up from 8 percent in 2010. For 2020, that figure is expected to exceed 60 percent. The resulting increase in renewables allowed KIUC to reduce its use of fossil fuels by nearly 20 million gallons annually.

On most days, 90 percent or more of Kauai’s daytime energy needs are met by renewable sources. KIUC is now routinely running on 100 percent renewables for five hours or more on sunny days. KIUC’s solar resources currently consist of 64 megawatts of utility scale photovoltaic (PV) and 32.2 megawatts of distributed (rooftop) photovoltaic. KIUC’s utility-scale solar fields contain battery components, which have helped to increase system reliability by 50 percent over the past 10 years. 

In 2019 alone, KIUC achieved a savings of $3.8 million from its utility-scale solar and battery resources versus the average cost of diesel.

KIUC unveiled the world’s first utility-scale solar plus battery storage generation facilityi n March 2017. The 13 megawatt Tesla solar field, which is coupled with a 52 megawatt hour battery storage system, allows KIUC to store solar power during the day and dispatch it over a four-hour period during the evening peak demand.

In early 2019, KIUC and partner AES Distributed Energy opened the island's second solar plus battery storage facility in Lawai: 20 megawatts of PV coupled with 5 hours of battery storage will move roughly 100 megawatt hours of solar energy to the evening peak. Forty percent of Kauai's evening peak load can now be met with dispatchable solar. 

KIUC was recognized by the Smart Electric Power Association in 2018 and 2019 as the top utility in the nation for energy storage watts per customer – topping the next largest by nearly 8 times the storage capacity. In 2019 KIUC was also recognized by SEPA as second in the nation for annual megawatts of energy storage capacity: behind Southern California Edison.  

In addition to solar, KIUC’s renewable portfolio includes more than 16 megawatts of hydro power, and 7 megawatts of biomass.

Learn more about KIUC's renewable progress here. 

Learn more about the Green Energy Team biomass plant here. 
 

Tags
  • renewable
  • solar
  • hydro
  • tesla
  • aes
  • pump
  • waiahi
  • lawai
  • biomass
    • Renewable Energy In Service
    • Waiahi Hydropower Plants
    • West Kauai Energy Project
    • Powering Paradise | RMI report on Hawaii's transition to 100% renewable
    KIUC has 119.8 megawatts of renewable energy in service in 2020
    Waiahi Hydropower Fact Sheet
    WaiahiHydroFactSheet_0719.pdf
    Ditch and Stream Gauge Information for North Fork Wailua and Waikoko (2019)
    NFW and Waikoko Diversion Records 2019.pdf
    KIUC's EA for Waiahi Hydro Plants is Published for Public Comment | 10.8.19
    pr2019-1008 KIUC's EA for Waiahi hydro plants published.pdf
    News release: KIUC submits environmental assessment to support water lease application | 7.26.19
    pr2019-0726 KIUC Submits EA for Water Lease.pdf
    KIUC's President and CEO David Bissell authored a guest column on the Waiahi plants and HB 1326 in the March 10, 2019 edition of The Garden Island newspaper
    David Bissell Guest Editorial TGI 3.10.19.pdf
    KIUC provided a briefing on the Waiahi hydros to the Wailua Kapaa Neighborhood Association on February 23, 2019
    WKNA Waiahi Hydro informational update 2.23.2019 FINAL.pdf
    Commission on Water Resource Management real-time stream gauge at North Fork Wailua

    Click here to view real time stream flow data collected from CWRM's gauge downstream of the Blue Hole Diversion.

    Username: Public

    Password: Public

    KIUC and AES to Join Forces on First-Ever Solar + Pumped Storage Hydro Project | 1.07.2021
    pr2021-0107 KIUC and AES join forces on solar pumped storage hydro project.pdf
    WKEP Project Map and Diagram
    Project Facilities and Diagram.pdf
    WKBPA - Project Update | 10.21.19
    KIUC Community Mtg WKBPA 10.21.19 FINAL.pdf
    DLNR News Release - Mediation Agreement | April 2017
    DLNR news release April 2017.pdf
    Powering Paradise report
    rmi_powering_paradise (002).pdf
    Back to Top

    Facebook

     
    Kauai Island Utility Cooperative

    Follow Us

    ©2021 Kauai Island Utility Cooperative. A Touchstone Energy Cooperative

    • Home
    • About KIUC
      • About Us
      • Annual Reports
      • Bylaws
      • Employment Information
      • Energy Information
      • Financials
      • Strategic Plan
      • Tariffs
      • Request for Proposals/Qualifications
    • Member Services
    • Renewables
    • News
    • Board
    • Community
    • Outage Map