Challenge
The Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu (HNL) is one of the busiest airports in the world, with 21 million passengers traveling through its terminals every year. The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) is transitioning the airport’s electricity to solar energy to reduce costs and help the state reach its climate goal of 100% clean energy by 2045.
Solution
The Airport solar installations are part of a comprehensive energy plan implemented in 2014 through an Energy Service Performance Contract (ESPC) between Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) and HDOT. The plan included energy-efficiency improvements and multiple phases of solar energy generation. As part of this plan, Sunspear Energy, as a subcontractor to JCI and SunPower, installed a total of 12,592 SunPower® solar panels on the overseas terminal rooftops and solar carports on the overseas terminal and inter-island terminal parking structures. A project of this size and complexity required a collective effort from several teams and contractors, but Sunspear was able to complete all 3 phases of the project on time.
Benefits
All in, the systems Sunspear installed will generate 8.7 megawatt hours of clean energy per year, offsetting 8% of the airport’s electricity use. The state will save an estimated $1.7 million in the first year alone. Total greenhouse gas emissions eliminated by the system are equivalent to those from 1,248 passenger vehicles every year.