Undertaken with funding from the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute and the Hawaiian Electric Co., the study said much of that power would come from proposed wind farms on the adjacent islands of Lanai and Molokai that would transmit power to Oahu via undersea cables.
The study found that the Hawaiian Electric Co. grid on Oahu could accommodate 600 MW of renewable power, including 400 MW of wind power transmitted by undersea cable from Lanai and Molokai.
The study also assumed the production of 100 MW of wind and 100 MW of solar power on Oahu.
The renewable power, equal to 25 percent of Oahu’s electricity needs, would eliminate the need to burn 2.8 million barrels of oil and 132,000 tons of coal each year, the report said.
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