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Hawaii Wind Working Group    >    History History of Wind Energy Projects in Hawaii   Wind energy has been used by Hawaii's people throughout their history. The ancient Hawaiians relied on the wind to take their sailing canoes not only on long voyages, but also in everyday activities, such as fishing. Each of the winds had names. The trade winds, Moa'e, are the prevailing winds; they come from the notheast direction. (On the subject of Hawaiian names: the Hawaiian name of a place is an important thing to find out -- early in the project. Find out more in the ISSUES section.) In modern times, large scale wind energy production for electricity started in 1980 with the MOD-0A at Kahuku. The diagram below shows utility experience with wind energy. The Hawaii Electric Light Company, on the island of Hawaii, continues to operate a windfarm at Lalamilo Wells which was originally installed in 1985. This and other historical projects are described in more detail below.

Kahuku, Oahu MOD-0A Westinghouse Turbines at Kahuku Boeing MOD-5B wind turbine at Kahuku	MOD-0A (1980) U.S. Department of Energy/NASA wind demonstration project HECO operated MOD-0A for 2 years Westinghouse 200 kW design Most productive of all 4 MOD-0A installations Capacity factor ~36 percent Kahuku Wind Farm Westinghouse Turbines (1985) Hawaiian Electric Renewable Systems (HERS) installed, owned and operated from 1985-1993 (15) 600 kW Westinghouse turbines Westinghouse design. Westinghouse did not continue in the wind energy area, so there were no upgrades available. Energy production lower than projected Operation and maintenance costs higher than projected Turbines sold in 1993 to New World Power New World Power owned and operated from 1993 to 1996 New World Power eventually went bankrupt Reverted to landowner, Campbell Estates U.S. Army acquiring parcels at Kahuku for training Boeing MOD-5B Wind Turbine (1987) Hawaiian Electric Renewable Systems (HERS) owned and operated from 1987-1993 3,200 kW Boeing turbine World’s largest wind turbine at the time (a special crane had to be shipped in to install it). The two blades together measured 320 feet from tip to tip. One of the blades is on display in Honolulu at the Ward Avenue facility of Hawaiian Electric Company. Last of federal-sponsored turbines, was built for the U.S. Department of Energy by the Boeing Aerospace Company, under the project management of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It was an experimental machine. Energy production was lower than projected
Maalaea, Maui	Maui Wind Energy DevelopmentWindane Wind Turbine (1984) Danish Pacific Windpower owned and operated MECO hosted 340 kW wind turbine demonstration MECO later purchased the unit (1989) Dismantled due to structural problems (1991)
Kahua Ranch, Hawaii	Kahua Ranch has had several wind projects, including one which used three 10 kW Bergey wind turbines, a 10kW PV array, and a 30 kW diesel generator, in conjunction with a battery bank and pumped hydro system, to supply power to a greenhouse and 11 homes and shops on the ranch. This "village power" system was not connected to the electrical grid. The system was a prototype for a larger version in Fiji. A 10-MW wind project is planned at Kahua Ranch. Find out more in the current projects section.
Lalamilo Wells, Hawaii	(39) 17.5 kW Jacobs wind turbines and (81) 20 kW Jacobs wind turbines On-line 1985 Acquired by HEI in 1987 and operated until 1993 Operated by Lalamilo Ventures (HEI subsidiary) until 1996 Assets turned over to HELCO in Dec. 1996 Presently 81 turbines operating: (26) 17.5 kW and (55) 20 kW Jacobs wind turbines
South Point, Hawaii	Wind farm at South Point on the Island of Hawaii, on 100 acres of cattle range land Built in 1986 by Kamaoa Wind Energy Partners (37) 250 kW Mitsubishi wind machines; total capacity of 9.3 MW Apollo Energy Corporation bought the Kamaoa Wind Farm in 1994 Currently operating in a derated mode (approximately 7 MW) Apollo Energy Corp. is currently negotiating a “Restated and Amended Contract” for the repowering and expansion of the existing windfarm to increase the output to 20 MW of instantaneous power. Plans are to replace the Mitsubishi 250 kW turbines with Lagerway 750 kW turbines. Find out more in the current projects section.
Molokai	Molokai Wind Energy DevelopmentVestas Wind Turbines (1991) 1 MW private wind farm development on Molokai Power purchase agreement (PUC approved) Wind-Diesel wind farm demonstration (3) 100 kW Vestas wind turbines (1) 100 kW diesel generator Electronic problems due to possible lighting strike (1994) Power purchase agreement terminated (1997)

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This Page was last modified on 04/15/2002.