Long time Hawai'i developer Castle & Cooke Inc. has ambitious green plans for Lana'i. They want the island, of which they own about 98 percent, to be powered completely by solar power by 2020. And with their recent completion of the state's largest single-site solar farm, Lana'i is on its way to that goal.
The fully operational solar farm is named La Ola, the Hawaiian words for sun and life. The array consists of 7,400 photovoltaic panels installed on 10 acres of former pineapple land. The panels can tilt with the sun, making them 25 percent more efficient than if they were fixed in position. Costing the developer around $19 million, the solar power plant is designed to produce 1.2 megawatts of energy when three battery containers are installed in June, providing 30 percent of Lana'i's peak electric demand.
Under a 25-year purchase power agreement with Maui Electric Co., the utility will be able to cut their reliance on imported oil by about 5,000 barrels annually. Residence of Lana'i are hoping the energy created at La Ola will parlay into lower monthly electric bills. In January, Lana'i electricity prices came in at 34 cents a kilowatt-hour, as compared to 27 cents a kilowatt-hour on Maui and 21 cents a kilowatt-hour for O'ahu customers.