Hawaiian Electric is dedicated to accelerating the adoption and strategic transition of Hawaii's transportation sector from fossil fuels to electricity. With a mission to empower customers and communities with clean, reliable, and affordable energy, Hawaiian Electric is taking the necessary steps to ensure that renewable energy sources are compatible with other forms of transportation and mobility technologies. To reach this goal, Hawaiian Electric has proposed a company-wide implementation, transitioning existing programs to a new DR portfolio. This portfolio will include energy storage as a resource to help maintain grid reliability and securely integrate cost-effective renewable energy into utility grids.
Energy storage has the potential to even out intermittent generation from renewable energy and improve the reliable operation of the power grid by providing ancillary services such as voltage control and VAR, frequency regulation, and providing a reserve for unforeseen events. Hawaiian Electric is also evaluating energy storage technologies and applications in parallel with ongoing evaluations to increase the operational flexibility of generating units, the development of operational and planning tools, and the development of DR. By diversifying Hawaii's energy mix through more local use of producing renewable energy at lower, more stable prices to produce electricity (and for transportation when possible), Hawaiian Electric is helping Hawaii use less oil. A transportation electrification strategy complements other energy policy objectives, increases the impact of clean energy, and adds value to customers.
The resulting increase in operational flexibility will support the integration of additional renewable resources and address the changing energy demand profile created by the growth of distributed resources. Hawaiian Electric is committed to ensuring a high level of system reliability under the new regime of increased renewable energy, using as accessory services both generation units and grid service resources such as energy storage and DR technologies. To learn more about the status and future plans of the different types of renewable energy available in Hawaii, follow these links.
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