Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions and Brigham Young University-Hawaii announced completion of a campus-wide renewable energy system that includes rooftop solar, carport solar and battery energy storage.
Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, a nonregulated commercial brand of Duke Energy, designed and constructed the renewable energy system and the battery energy storage system containing Tesla Megapacks.
The estimated annual electricity production of the entire project will be 6.37 MWh – enough to meet an estimated 39% of the university’s energy needs each year.
“This project has made BYU-Hawaii more eco-friendly and reduced our environmental impact,” said Kevin Schlag, operations VP. “The combination of solar and battery storage is a smart solution that will allow us to support our students and their education more sustainably by potentially saving the university over $20 million in utility costs over the system’s life.”
Located on 100 acres in Laie on the island of Oahu, the university’s renewable energy project consists of three rooftop solar installations, five solar carports throughout the campus, including its main parking lot and 7,324.8 kWh of battery storage.
“Now more than ever, universities, companies and municipalities are powering their infrastructure using renewable energy to ensure sustainability and reduce carbon emissions,” said Chris Fallon, president of Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions. “We’re proud that we were able to deliver the faculty, students and administration of Brigham Young University-Hawaii a renewable energy solution that positively impacts the local environment and reduces the university’s impact on the energy grid in Hawaii.”
The university financed the project through a 20-year power purchase agreement with Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions.
News item from Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions
Kelsey is managing editor of Solar Power World and host of the Contractor's Corner podcast.
“The estimated annual electricity production of the entire project will be 6.37 MWh – enough to meet an estimated 39% of the university’s energy needs each year.”
With smart ESS online, this 39% estimate doesn’t necessarily address overall energy costs per year. IF HECO has on peak and off peak electricity programs, using the proper algorithms this campus could save something like 50% a year on average electricity bill costs each year. IF the campus has a grid services agreement with HECO, this system could actually bring in stacked revenues to the campus if the ESS is used for grid services as well as arbitrage for the campus.
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