Supporting the clean energy transition in California and Hawaii

Wärtsilä teams up with Clearway to optimise some of the largest solar+energy storage facilities in the world.

California and Hawaii are leading the energy transition in the United States.

As the two states increase their mix of renewable energy generation to further their aggressive carbon reduction goals, the need for energy storage technologies is paramount to the health of their electric grids.

To provide essential grid reliability in these markets, Wärtsilä is providing a 497-megawatt (MW) / 1.9-gigawatt hour (GWhac) portfolio of five energy storage systems to Clearway Energy Group, one of the largest developers and operators of clean energy in the U.S. The projects are in Hawaii and California and are coupled with solar photovoltaic (PV) resources at each site. The projects make up some of the largest co-located energy storage projects in the US.

California
Wärtsilä is supplying a total of 422 MW / 1.6 GWh of energy storage to be installed at three of Clearway’s solar facilities in Southern California.

Hawaii
Wärtsilä is supplying 75 MW / 300 MWhac of energy storage, installed and operating at Clearway’s 75 MW PV facilities in Oahu.

Who	Clearway Energy Group
What	Combined 500 MW / 2 GWh portfolio
Where	California, US and Oahu, Hawaii, US

This is what we achieved

1.7

GWh of energy storage operating in Southern California

300

MWh of energy storage operating in Oahu

Wärtsilä is proud to be leading the clean energy economy in Hawaii and addressing climate change in partnership with Clearway Energy Group and Hawaiian Electric.
Håkan Agnevall, President & CEO, Wärtsilä

How we did it

Challenge

Help meet clean energy targets in California and Hawaii
Provide additional reliability to the local grids that are impacted by high levels of intermittent
Provide flexibility to the local grid during peak demand periods and by extending the solar plant output as solar generation tapers off and to

Solution

497 MW / 2 GWh of energy storage projects—including Quantum systems and GEMS Digital Energy Platform—integrated with five of CEG’s solar facilities in California and Hawaii
Using the GEMS platform and plant PPC, in conjunction with HECO and CAISO day-ahead markets, to provide ancillary services, resource adequacy, and bulk power supply
Service+ GAP solution ensures that all the energy storage systems within the portfolio for CEG perform optimally and on guaranteed levels

Benefit

Provide stability to the Californian and Hawaiian energy markets while allowing the states to continue to integrate renewable energy assets
Generate $18.5M in taxes to benefit local California schools, hospitals, and additional public infrastructure, while creating more than 500 union labor construction jobs
Reduce energy costs for Hawaiian residents by providing more affordable energy options and reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels

Questions? Contact us

The main details

Customer	Clearway Energy Group
Site size	Combined 500 MW / 2 GWh portfolio
Where	California, US and Oahu, Hawaii, US
Applications	Renewables+
Scope	Engineering, equipment delivery (EEQ), Service+ GAP
Delivery	2022-2023