Both proposals, which still face potentially years of regulatory review, incorporate technology -- called WindFloat -- that would float the turbines in the Pacific.
As described in documents posted on the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management website, A.W. Hawaii Wind, a subsidiary of Denmark-based Alpha Wind Energy is seeking permission to build two offshore floating wind farms.
Each of the facilities is expected to consist of 50 turbines and will generate 400 MW of power once operational.
The company wants to locate one of the wind farms about 12 miles off Kaena Point, Oahu; it wants to place the other in waters 17 miles south of Diamond Head.
Progression Hawaii Offshore Wind, the company behind the second proposal, also plans to deploy about 50 floating turbines off Oahu's South Shore. The facility is also expected to produce about 400 MW of power once completed.
The WindFloat technologies that both firms intend to rely on would stand the turbine on a triangular platform that is anchored to the ocean floor, but otherwise floats.
Undersea cables would transfer the energy to power plants on land.
Hawaii has set a goal for its utilities to use 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2045. The state's utilities currently generate about 24 percent of their energy from renewable sources through wind, solar, geothermal and biomass energy.
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