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| PRESS STATEMENT: FIRST WIND CONFIRMS RECEIPT OF DOE LOAN GUARANTEE FOR OAHU-BASED KAHUKU WIND PROJECT |
| Project features unique battery energy storage system |
| 07/27/2010 |
First Wind, an independent U.S.-based wind energy company, provided the following comments regarding its receipt of a $117 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the company’s Oahu-based 30 MW Kahuku Wind project, which recently began construction:
“We are very pleased to close on the loan guarantee for our Kahuku Wind project,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of First Wind. “The Department of Energy and its Loan Programs Office have played a vital role in advancing this project, which broke ground earlier this month. The loan guarantee helped us to secure the necessary financing to build this new wind energy project, which will create jobs, generate clean power for the people of Oahu, and help Hawaii gain greater energy independence. We appreciate the DOE’s support for this innovative project.”
Located on Oahu’s North Shore, the Kahuku Wind project will consist of twelve 2.5 MW Clipper Liberty wind turbines, and upon completion will have the capacity to generate enough clean, renewable energy to power up to 7,700 Oahu homes each year. The project will also include a battery energy storage system to assist in meeting performance standards and smoothing fluctuations in wind energy output. The battery storage system was developed by Xtreme Power, Inc. and will be the largest of its kind in Hawaii.
Construction on the Kahuku Wind project began earlier this month. It is creating employment opportunities during design, engineering and construction including approximately 200 construction jobs. Once completed, the project will support the ambitious Hawaiian Clean Energy Initiative, which aims to have 70 percent of the state’s energy for electricity and ground transportation come from clean energy by 2030.
The DOE's Loan Programs Office manages the nation's green energy loan portfolio and is authorized to issue loan guarantees under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 for eligible projects that (a) avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and (b) employ new or significantly improved technologies as compared to technologies in service in the United States at the time the guarantee is issued. For more information on the DOE's Loan Programs Office, please visit www.lgprogram.energy.gov.
About First Wind
First Wind is an independent wind energy company exclusively focused on the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of utility-scale wind projects in the United States. Based in Boston, First Wind has wind projects in the Northeast, the West and in Hawaii, with the capacity to generate up to 504 megawatts of power. For more information on First Wind, please visit www.firstwind.com or follow us on Twitter @FirstWind.
First Wind has a partnership in Hawaii with Makani Nui Associates, a Hawaii -based company. The partnership developed, constructed, financed, owns and operates Kaheawa Wind Power. Makani Nui is also a partner in the Kahuku Wind project.
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For more information, contact:
John Lamontagne
First Wind
Director, Communications
617-960-9521
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