SunPower to supply 1.5 MW solar farm in Hawaii

Silicon Valley-based SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR) is to be the supplier of a new 1.5 MW solar photovoltaic farm announced today for the Hawaiian island of Lanai.

Real estate developer Castle & Cooke, Inc. has announced a contract through a subsidiary to build the largest solar photovoltaic farm in Hawaii, and the fourth largest in the United States.

The 1.5-megawatt solar farm will be built on a 10-acre site in south Lanai. It's expected to produce enough solar energy to supply up to 30 percent of the island’s electric demand.

The solar farm is one of several alternative energy projects that Castle & Cooke is pursuing on Lanai. The company is moving forward with plans for wind energy and growing feedstock for biofuels, to help the state achieve its mandated renewable energy goals.

The proposed site of the 10-acre solar farm is in the Palawai Basin, about two miles south of the Maui Electric Company (MECO) power plant. The area is flat and faces south.

The project is to use SunPower Tracker technology, which will allow the solarpanels to automatically follow the path of the sun throughout the day, optimizing their output.

Castle & Cooke is in the process of negotiating a power purchase agreement with Maui Electric Company (MECO) to provide the solar power to the community through MECO’s grid.

“Maui Electric Company fully supports the installation of renewable energy sources and Lanai’s unique location will create a model for future projects,” said Ed Reinhardt, president of MECO.