Selling Power to the Utility

Land Request for Information

Hawaiian Electric is extending an open, informal invitation to landowners on Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii island interested in making their land available for siting future utility-scale renewable energy projects and/or Company facilities or equipment that support integrating renewable energy projects on the electrical grid.

In 2021, Hawaiian Electric announced a bold Climate Change Action Plan centered on reducing carbon emissions by as much as 70% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels and reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2045.

Reducing carbon emissions by more than two-thirds over this decade will be a stretch. We know it's achievable, and if everyone pitches in, we'll create a cost-effective, sustainable and resilient energy system for future generations.

“Hawaii Powered” is our vision for using 100% local, clean energy. It celebrates finding solutions for a clean energy future right here in Hawaii. Clean energy for Hawaii, by Hawaii:

  • Achieves energy independence
  • Expands energy choices
  • Supports our Climate Change Action Plan and decarbonization goals

As part of our Hawaii Powered efforts, we’ve been working with communities on Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii Island to identify potential locations for future grid-scale renewable projects:

To accomplish our 2030 goals, we need upwards of 1.2 GW of solar or approximately 8,000 acres of land. The information from this 2023 Land Request for Information (Land RFI) will be extremely valuable as it helps us plan the grid infrastructure needs to reach the potential land availability across each island.

Hawaiian Electric1 is soliciting renewable energy projects through numerous request for proposals (RFPs). Renewable energy technologies typically require a considerable amount of land, and land is a limited resource on each island. The Company, through this Land RFI, is seeking information on landowners interested in making their land available for siting utility-scale renewable energy projects and/or siting electric system grid equipment on the islands of Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii.

The Company intends to use the information gathered as noted above to continue our efforts to identify areas suitable for renewable energy development. In addition, we intend to offer the information gathered in this Land RFI to interested renewable energy project developers as part of future utility-scale renewable energy procurement processes. Hawaiian Electric is also interested in land that may be available to site equipment to support renewable energy and storage projects, i.e., substations, switchyards, and transmission lines.

If a developer is interested in pursuing the placement of a project on a property after viewing the Land RFI results, the developer will work directly with the landowner to discuss any purchase or leasing arrangements required to utilize the land. Such discussions and negotiations will need to be completed separately from this RFI solicitation without any involvement from Hawaiian Electric. If Hawaiian Electric is interested in any land from the RFI to site its own equipment, it will reach out to the landowner, explain its interest, and pursue further discussions required to utilize the land.

Depending on the results and market response to this RFI, the Company may periodically reissue this request in the future to capture updated land availability information.

Interested parties are asked to submit the requested information via email to landrfi@hawaiianelectric.com as soon as possible, but no later than April 15, 2023.

1 Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., Maui Electric Company, Limited, and Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc. are each doing business as “Hawaiian Electric” and have jointly registered “Hawaiian Electric” as a trade name with the State of Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, as evidenced by Certificate of Registration No. 4235929, dated December 20, 2019.

For Landowners – Information Required

In your email, please provide the following:

  1. PROPERTIES (If providing information for multiple properties, please provide a table in the email or add a table attachment to the email to ensure the information is displayed clearly.)
    1. Island - Specify if your property is on the island of Oahu, Maui, or Hawaii.
    2. Land Size - Identify the approximate acres of land that are available on your property to site a project and equipment (the minimum threshold for this RFI is 1 acre per property). If you are offering more than one property, specify each property’s acreage separately.
    3. Tax Map Key(s) - Provide the TMK of each property. Provide the TMK in 9-digit2 TMK format.
    4. Description of Property - Provide any other information that describes each property you are offering.
  2. CONTACT INFORMATION (Please provide your complete contact information)
    1. Name
    2. Title of Respondent (e.g., Owner, Land Representative, etc.)
    3. Company Name
    4. Contact Address
    5. Contact Phone Number
    6. Contact Email
  3. PREFERENCE
    1. Are you interested in making your properties available for siting a renewable energy project, Company system equipment, or both?
    2. Besides agreeing to share your information with prospective proposers to future RFPs who execute a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement with Hawaiian Electric, are you also willing to share only the property information portion of your response publicly?
  4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (State the following in your email)
    “By submitting my information into this Request for Information, I acknowledge that I am the property owner and I have read, understood, and agree to all conditions stated with this Request for Information.”

This is Not a Request for Proposals. The RFI is being solicited to continue Hawaiian Electric’s efforts to gain a better understanding of resource potential and where landowners are interested in offering potential development locations for siting future grid system equipment. In addition, Hawaiian Electric will offer the potential development locations to project developers intending to propose renewable energy projects into future Company RFPs on the islands of Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii. The RFI is not an RFP related to a specific project or solicitation of development for a single project proposal. Neither this RFI nor the disclosure of the information shall result in any obligation on the part of either the Company or respondents to this RFI to enter into any further agreement with the other with respect to the subject matter hereof, to purchase any products or services from the other, or to require the Company to disclose any particular information to the respondents. Nothing in this RFI shall imply any partnership or joint venture between the Company and any respondent or be construed as making either the agent of the other.

By submitting your land information and your contact information in response to this RFI, you expressly agree (1) that Hawaiian Electric may share information on your available land with project developers who execute a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement with Hawaiian Electric for a particular RFP, and (2) to the other terms and conditions set forth in this RFI. The information you share with Hawaiian Electric will be kept confidential and only shared with prospective proposers to future RFPs who execute a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement with Hawaiian Electric.

Questions from Interested Parties. If a landowner would like additional information or clarification, they may submit questions in writing to landrfi@hawaiianelectric.com.

The Company appreciates your interest in helping Hawaii achieve a 100% renewable energy future and looks forward to receiving your responses.

2 Island Number (1 digit); Zone Number (1 digit); Section Number (1 digit); Plat Number (3 digits, add leading zeros if less than 3 digits); Parcel Number (3 digits, add leading zeros if less than 3 digits).