A research project on the Ewa plain could yield cutting-edge ways to store solar-generated energy for later use when the sun is not shining. UH, Navy, HECO work
to harness solar power
for fuel cells in Ewa
By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.comThe project will team the Navy, the University of Hawaii's Natural Energy Institute and Hawaiian Electric Co.
The project will receive $2.5 million in federal funds for use in the next two years, said Gary Jensen, director of the MidPacific Branch of the Office of Naval Research.
"We're interested in the possibility of photovoltaic energy (solar power) to create hydrogen" and then storing hydrogen in fuel cells, Jensen said.
The project will initially create 200 kilowatts of power (the equivalent of powering 60 homes) and if funded to expand could supply 2 or 3 megawatts of electricity (the equivalent of powering 90,000 homes) and be the largest photovoltaic array in Hawaii, its partners said.
"It's a very nice way to start to look at renewable resources and, from the utility's standpoint, how we can integrate intermittent resources -- those that aren't always there when you want them -- into our system," said Karl Stahlkopf, HECO's chief technology officer.
Stahlkopf said the 34.5 acres of Navy land near the New Ewa Beach and Hawaii Prince golf courses are good for the project because they're "sunny, flat and available."
Using the sun's energy to make electricity -- photovoltaics -- is established technology, but storing that energy in fuel cells is an area where more experimentation is needed, Jensen said. Though he predicts that "any technological breakthroughs that come from this will be more incremental than revolutionary ... the Navy is interested in it."
A HECO announcement of the project last week credited U.S. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie with getting the funding.
"This project lays the foundation for the development and demonstration of renewable-energy sources that are so important for our military and for Hawaii's future," Abercrombie said.
The project also helps the military meet goals of increasing renewable energy use and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Jensen said.
The University of Hawaii-affiliated energy institute will own the facility, and HECO will operate the grid-connected photovoltaic system. Any power not used by the research will be fed back into the HECO system, and the Navy will get power "credit" for it.
The Natural Energy Institute, HECO and the Navy already are partners to develop advanced fuel cells via the Hawaii Fuel Test Facility and to explore sea-floor methane hydrates as a future fuel source.
An environmental assessment for the photovoltaic park is planned for early 2003, with construction to begin in mid-2004.
University of Hawaii
Hawaiian Electric Co.
