AES Hawaii Generation Plant

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AES Hawaii Generation Plant is a retired power station in Ewa Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is also known as Hawaii Generation Plant, West Oahu Plant.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
AES Hawaii Generation Plant Ewa Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States 21.303111, -158.10805 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1: 21.303111, -158.10805

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 retired coal - subbituminous 203 subcritical 1992 2022

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 AES Hawaii LLC [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

  • Coal source(s): Indonesia

Background

The AES Hawaii Generation Plant, also known as West Oahu plant, had a year-round [net] capacity of 180 megawatts and supplied about 11 percent of Oahu’s commercial energy supply.[1]

In 2014, Hawaiian Electric told plant owner AES Hawaii to consider converting part or all of the power station from coal to biomass. According to Hawaiian Electric, energy payments made to AES Hawaii under the existing power purchase agreement with Hawaiian Electric, which expires in September 2022, may not fully cover the costs of coal as more variable renewables come online, requiring power generation with more operational manueverability.[1]

In January 2017, Hawaii regulators rejected a plan by Hawaiian Electric Co. and AES Hawaii to expand the plant, saying the proposal was at odds with the state’s renewable energy future.[2]

AES Hawaii burned approximately 650,000 tons of subbituminous coal each year. The coal was imported from Indonesia via a marine terminal at the Barbers Point Harbor.[3] As of 2020, the power station burned coal from Samarinda Anchorage (Indonesia Import) and Mauru Pantai Coal Terminal (Indonesia Import).[4]

Unit Retirement

Hawaiian Electric Companies spokesperson Peter Rosegg said in a 2019 news article by Ieefa.org that the AES contract will expire in September 2022 and no one is interested in renewing it, leaving the plant without customers.[5]

On the last day of August 2022, the power purchase agreement with Hawaiian Electric lapsed, and the plant closed.[6]

Emissions Data

  • 2006 CO2 Emissions: 1,624,335 tons
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions:
  • 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
  • 2006 NOx Emissions:
  • 2005 Mercury Emissions:

The following table gives more info on this plant's SO2 emissions levels, as well as on whatever SO2 emissions "scrubbers" (Flue Gas Desulfurization units, or FGDs) have been installed at the plant. Each of the plant's units is listed separately, and at the bottom overall data for the plant is listed.[7][8]

Unit # Year Built Capacity MWh Produced (2005) SO2 Emissions (2002) SO2 Emissions per MWh (approx.) Average Annual Coal Sulfur Content FGD Unit Type FGD In-Service Year FGD SO2 Removal Efficiency
Total 1992 203 MW 1,547,814 MWh 25,144 tons 32.49 lb./MWh 0.61% none installed

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Hawaii's Only Coal-fired Power Plant May Switch to Biomass," Pacific Business News, Aug 28, 2014.
  2. "Hawaii regulators reject coal plant's expansion," Biz Journal, Jan 5, 2017
  3. Clynton Namuo (June 18, 2004). "Oahu coal plant generates energy without black smoke". Pacific Business News. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  4. "EIA 923 March 2020" EIA 923 2020.
  5. "Hawaiian Electric plans for 2022 closing of Oahu coal plant" ieefa.org, April 4, 2019
  6. "Hawaii to close its only coal power plant in a step toward renewable energy," The Guardian, Aug 31, 2022.
  7. Coal Power Plant Database, National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy, 2007.
  8. EIA-767, Energy Information Administration, 2005.

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.