Japan’s largest power generation company has made a proposal to invest $2 billion for construction of a 500-MW combined-cycle and simple-cycle natural gas-fired power plant on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Tokyo-based JERA said the project comes after the company made an agreement with Hawaiian officials last fall as part of a commitment with the Trump administration to build new U.S.-based power generation facilities.
JERA, which has at least part ownership of 10 U.S. power plants, recently said the Hawaii station would replace older oil-fired generation. The company said it would cut energy costs on Oahu by 20%. Officials said the new plant would be supported by an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility. JERA last year agreed to increase its purchases of U.S. LNG at least for the next 20 years. (Read JERA’s detailed proposal for the Hawaiian power plant here.)
The announcement of the Oahu plant comes after the state Public Utilities Commission in March approved a $2-billion plan by state utility Hawaiian Electric Co. to replace six older oil-fired steam generating units at Oahu’s Waiau power plant with new fuel-flexible, simple-cycle combustion turbines that would have total generation capacity of 243 MW. The Waiau plant has operated since 1938.
Hawaii Democratic Gov. Josh Green in a statement said JERA’s proposal “represents a transformative overhaul of our electrical grid and a tangible step to move Hawaii from its historic dependence on oil, while bringing billions of dollars in new energy investments to the state.” Green recently contributed a commentary to POWER about his state’s agreement with JERA.
John O’Brien, CEO of JERA Americas, said the new power plant “presents a path to reduce costs for residents and businesses, strengthen reliability and support Hawaii’s clean energy goals.”
LNG and Other Gas Projects
O’Brien in JERA’s proposal said, “JERA brings decades of experience delivering world-class liquefied natural gas and combined-cycle power projects, including in island and import-dependent systems such as Japan. We are committed to working closely with the State of Hawaiʻi, its regulators, utilities, and communities to advance this project responsibly and transparently.”
Alicia May, CEO of Hawaii Gas, said, “Hawaii Gas supports efforts to fortify and develop a pipeline infrastructure network that will be able to deliver the decarbonized fuels of the future, including renewable natural gas and hydrogen that we currently blend into our fuel mix on Oahu today.”
JERA said that about 75% of its investment is tied to the power plant, which is sited in Kapolei, about 20 miles west of Honolulu. The company said the rest of its funding would go toward the LNG-related infrastructure, which would include a floating storage and regasification unit.
The energy group said it expects the new power station would come online in 2030. JERA said it plans to start the permitting process in the next few months.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
