State’s Largest Solar Project Opens in Kōloa

A community open house will be held on Saturday, Sept. 27 in Kōloa for the state’s largest solar project, a 12-megawatt array owned by the members of Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC).

With the Kōloa array now online, KIUC is using the sun to meet nearly half of the island’s daytime energy demand.

The open house will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the solar farm, which is adjacent to the old Kōloa Mill off the Poipu Bypass Road. Signs will be posted.

KIUC staff engineers will guide members on tours and explain how the facility’s 45,360 panels provide electricity to the grid and enable KIUC to reduce its annual fuel oil consumption by 1.7 million gallons.

The Kōloa solar array became operational in July and went into full commercial operation in September. The $40 million project was built by SolarCity on 67 acres leased from Grove Farm.

Reservations aren’t required.

The array will generate 5.5 percent of the electricity used on Kauaʻi annually. It produces enough electricity to power about 4,000 homes.