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HI — Power Infrastructure Updated 2026-07-17

Hawaii

HECO Solar Storage Data Center PPAs

1) Grid operator & market structure

  • RTO/ISO: Hawaii is not served by a mainland RTO/ISO. The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission describes each of the six main islands as having its own electric grid, not connected to any other island, and regulates the electric utilities engaged in generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Utilities serving load: The HECO Companies serve about 95% of the state population through Hawaiian Electric on Oʻahu, Hawaii Electric Light on Hawaiʻi Island, and Maui Electric on Maui, Lānaʻi, and Molokaʻi; Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative serves Kauaʻi. Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Retail market structure: The PUC-regulated, islanded utility structure means large-load customers negotiate service within utility tariffs and PUC oversight rather than through a wholesale RTO market. Hawaiian Electric also notes that Hawaii’s isolated geography requires reserve generating capacity and multiple distribution routes for reliability. Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, accessed 2026-06-10 · Hawaiian Electric, accessed 2026-06-10

2) Interconnection queue (generator interconnections)

3) Ratepayer protection for large loads

  • No data-center-specific tariff identified: Hawaiian Electric publishes commercial rate schedules and effective-rate summaries, including large-power-use business classes such as Schedule P and directly served large-power classes; no published data-center-specific large-load tariff, minimum-demand contract, or data-center rider was identified in the reviewed utility tariff pages or PUC actions through 2026-07-17. Hawaiian Electric Oʻahu rates, accessed 2026-07-17 · Hawaiian Electric effective rate summary, accessed 2026-07-17 · Hawaii PUC 2026 archive, accessed 2026-07-17
  • Ratepayer-protection issue moved into 2026 legislative study track: HCR 206 asks the Hawaii State Energy Office working group to examine mechanisms ensuring data-center developers bear the full cost of needed generation, transmission, distribution, or grid infrastructure, and measures protecting residential and small-business ratepayers from costs associated with large new electricity loads. LegiScan HCR206 HD1 bill text, 2026-04-27
  • Existing rate context: Hawaiian Electric’s 2025 average-price table shows Oʻahu Schedule P large-power-use business customers at 31.21 cents/kWh and directly served large-power-use business customers at 28.97 cents/kWh, with higher large-power average prices on Maui County and Hawaiʻi Island; those are rate classes, not data-center-specific tariffs. Hawaiian Electric, accessed 2026-06-10

4) Generation adequacy (projects & storage)

  • Waiau reliability approval: On 2026-03-23, the PUC approved Hawaiian Electric’s Waiau Repowering Project for Oʻahu: six fuel-flexible simple-cycle combustion turbines totaling 253 MW, with renewable-fuel requirements starting at 51% at commissioning of the first four units or by 2032, rising to 75% by 2040 and 100% by 2045. This is a reliability and transition resource, not a data-center-specific approval. Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, 2026-03-23
  • Utility resource baseline: Hawaiian Electric reported a 2025 renewable-energy percentage of 36.8% and total 2025 generation of 10,668 GWh for its system, with Oʻahu firm capacity listed separately by plant and IPP. Hawaiian Electric Power Facts, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Second-cycle IGP: Hawaiian Electric’s updated second-cycle IGP workplan covers 2025-2029 planning, with formal planning through January 2029 and PUC review expected February 2029-January 2030. It prioritizes Base, High Load, and Low Load scenarios through the full modeling process and keeps generation, resource adequacy, and T&D grid needs in the same planning framework. Hawaiian Electric IGP Workplan, 2026-03-02
  • Additional renewable PPAs approved: In June 2026 the PUC approved contracts for Puʻuloa Solar on Oʻahu (6 MW solar plus 30 MWh storage) and Kuihelani Solar Phase 2 on Maui (40 MW solar plus 160 MWh storage). Hawaiian Electric announced the approvals on July 9 and said seven additional contracts remained under negotiation. These resources were not procured specifically for data centers, but they update the generation-and-storage baseline against which future large loads would be assessed. Hawaiian Electric, 2026-07-09

5) Utility load forecasts & data center demand

  • New 2026 data-center specificity: Hawaiian Electric’s February 2026 IGP Stakeholder Technical Working Group materials list “Potential Large Loads” and specifically “Evaluate potential data center impacts” as a load-forecast assumption item. This updates the earlier posture that reviewed IGP materials did not explicitly identify data-center load growth. Hawaiian Electric STWG slides, 2026-02-26
  • Large-project forecast method: The same February 2026 materials describe individual large project profiles/energy as a possible load-shape adjustment and schedule a June 25, 2026 load-forecast check-in/status update. Hawaiian Electric STWG slides, 2026-02-26
  • No later public data-center forecast posted: The utility’s STWG document page still listed April 23, 2026 as the most recent meeting materials as of 2026-07-17; it did not post the previously scheduled June 25 load-forecast check-in or any quantified data-center load forecast. Accordingly, “evaluate potential data center impacts” remains a planning assumption rather than a published MW forecast. Hawaiian Electric STWG documents, accessed 2026-07-17
  • Scenario treatment: Hawaiian Electric’s April 2026 STWG materials kept High Load and Low Load “bookend” scenarios in the full process and presented resource-plan sensitivities including High Fuel Price, No New Combustion Generation, and LNG on Oʻahu. Hawaiian Electric STWG slides, 2026-04-23
  • Legislative definition for study: HCR 206 focuses the state working-group study on large data centers requiring 5 MW or more in instantaneous demand. LegiScan HCR206 HD1 bill text, 2026-04-27

6) Behind-the-meter (BTM), co-location, or direct PPAs

  • BTM/DER pathways: Hawaiian Electric interconnection and customer renewable program materials remain the public pathway for customer-sited generation and storage; no public data-center-specific BTM, direct PPA, or generator-load co-location filing was identified in the reviewed PUC and Hawaiian Electric materials through 2026-07-17. Hawaiian Electric Stage 3 RFP interconnection process, accessed 2026-07-17 · Hawaii PUC energy docket overview, accessed 2026-07-17
  • Servpac facility energy note: Public reporting states Servpac’s existing MTP facility was about 30,000 square feet and 1 MW before the 2026 Building 2 project; Servpac’s 2026 Building 2 announcement did not disclose a new MW figure, but says the expansion uses closed-loop cooling and large-scale on-site solar. Data Center Dynamics, 2026-02-10 · Servpac, 2026-01-28
  • AlohaNAP load expansion: On 2026-03-31, 1547 Critical Systems Realty described a 1.5 MW, 9,000-square-foot expansion as underway at AlohaNAP in Kapolei and said it would double facility capacity. No special tariff, dedicated generation arrangement, or investment amount was disclosed. 1547 Critical Systems Realty, 2026-03-31
  • DRFortress planned load expansion: On 2026-05-20, DRFortress’s co-founder and CFO said the Honolulu facility was pursuing an additional 3 MW expansion for anticipated hyperscaler and AI edge demand. The public disclosure did not identify an interconnection filing, special rate, behind-the-meter supply, or construction schedule. Cool Vector via Apple Podcasts, 2026-05-20

7) Transmission constraints & upgrades

  • Planning framework: Hawaiian Electric’s IGP process is the main public planning venue for generation, resource adequacy, transmission, distribution, resilience, and customer impacts across Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi. Hawaii Public Utilities Commission IGP docket overview, accessed 2026-06-10 · Hawaiian Electric IGP page, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Oʻahu REZ milestone completed: After evaluating eight areas and gathering community input, Hawaiian Electric filed its recommendation to prioritize Kunia/Schofield and Koolaupoko as Oʻahu’s two near-term Renewable Energy Zones. The utility said both scored well and involved relatively contained transmission upgrades; conceptual design, landowner discussions, procurement packages, and regulatory/community review remain ahead. The zones are not data-center supply commitments, but their development will shape future Oʻahu generation and transmission options for all load. Hawaiian Electric, 2026-07-08

Notes