Hawaiian Electric issued a Stage 3 Request for Proposals (RFP) for competitive procurement of renewable energy and energy storage resources on the island of Oahu. This all-source procurement was developed based on updated grid needs assessments for Oahu and represents the utility's strategy to meet its clean energy goals through competitive bidding. The RFP solicits proposals for renewable dispatchable generation projects (photovoltaic plus battery energy storage systems and wind plus battery energy storage systems), standalone energy storage projects, and firm power purchase agreements.
Proposers were required to submit comprehensive proposals addressing technical specifications, operational requirements, and pricing terms through an electronic procurement platform (Sourcing Intelligence, Event 139119). All proposals must comply with IEEE Standard 2800-2022 for interconnection and interoperability of inverter-based resources. Technical specifications included a single point of failure requirement of no more than 142 MW decrease in active power output at the project's point of interconnection.
Key milestones in the RFP process included technical conferences held on August 5, 2022 and February 17, 2023 to address prospective proposer questions. Hawaiian Electric filed draft RFP documents on May 2, 2022, with final RFP documents submitted on December 22, 2022. The Public Utilities Commission issued Order No. 38865 on February 17, 2023 approving incorporation of IEEE 2800-2022 requirements, with updated documents filed on February 28, 2023.
Bid evaluation considered both price and non-price factors. On December 1, 2023, Hawaiian Electric selected seven projects for the Final Award Group following competitive evaluation. The RFP included provisions for interconnection dispute resolution established by the Public Utilities Commission to address disputes arising during the interconnection process.