Maui

Graphic map of Maui with icons showing the locations of existing renewable energy installations. The island is shown in yellow. The icons are green circles with black symbols in the center representing hydroelectric, wind, biomass, and solar energy. An icon on the west coast of the island uses a water drop to represent hydroelectric power. An icon on the southwest coast uses a wind turbine to represent wind energy. An icon in the interior part of the neck of the island uses a leaf symbol to represent biomass energy. An icon in the center of the island contains a sun symbol and represents distributed photovoltaic installations.

Map of Maui showing the locations of existing renewable energy generation, including hydroelectric, wind, and biomass, as well as distributed rooftop PV installations.

Maui is served by the Maui Electric Company, which has about 260 megawatts of capacity. Maui has significant local renewable energy resources, as well as energy-efficiency potential. An aggressive program to retrofit inefficient buildings and increase the efficiency of new buildings could flatten Maui's load growth over the next 20 years.

Maui could also turn to domestic renewable sources for a substantial portion of its electrical needs. For transportation, Maui's clean energy options include biofuels from local crops and electric vehicles that are plugged into the grid and charged with renewable energy.

Renewable Generation on Maui

Two large renewable energy projects—a 30-megawatt wind farm (the state's largest) and a 16-megawatt biomass power plant burning bagasse at a commercial sugar operation—already provide Maui with about 20% renewable energy generation. Maui also has a few megawatts of hydroelectric generation, and rooftop PV distributed across the island currently contributes approximately 1 megawatt to the island's renewable energy portfolio.

Additional Renewable Resources

Technical assessments show that Maui has significant additional resource potential, including

  • Wind energy—67 megawatts
  • Biomass energy—25 megawatts
  • Geothermal energy—140 megawatts
  • Solar thermal energy (exact capacity to be determined).

Proposed renewable generation projects include 42 megawatts of wind energy, 6 megawatts of biomass power, and 10 megawatts of geothermal.

Although ocean energy technologies are not yet proven on a commercial scale, Maui is at the forefront of ocean energy research. The island is planning to help test and demonstrate a wave project off its north coast in the near future.

Department of Energy
State of Hawaii