Supply chain and trade woes blamed as Engie NA cancels a solar + storage project

The company blamed interconnection costs along with global supply chain and production issues, and tariff and trade disputes.

November 3, 2021 David Wagman

Utility-scale solar-plus-storage.

Image: ENGIE North America

ENGIE North America has scrapped a 60 MWac solar plus 240 MWh battery storage facility that it was awarded by Hawaiian Electric Co. in May 2020.

ENGIE North America blamed “elevated interconnection costs coupled with global supply chain and production issues, as well as tariffs and trade disputes” affecting the photovoltaic solar industry.

NHOA (formerly Electro Power Systems) was to supply the battery storage system for the Puako project and act as a system integrator as subcontractor to ENGIE.

In announcing the cancellation, NHOA said it was “obviously disappointed” with ENGIE’s decision, and said that production issues mentioned by ENGIE were “in no way related to NHOA’s technology nor scope of supply.”

The now canceled project was seleted as part of Hawaiian Electric’s renewable energy procurement that included 460 MW of solar power and nearly 3 GWh of energy storage on Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii.

Through the award, Oahu was slated to add eight new solar-plus-storage projects and one stand-alone storage project totaling 287 MW of PV and 1.8 GWh of storage.

On Maui Island, three solar-plus-storage projects and one standalone project were awarded, totaling 100 MW of generation and 560 MWh of storage capacity.

And on Hawaii, two solar-plus-storage projects and a stand-alone storage project were awarded. Projects included the ENGIE venture as well as a Hawaiian Electric project to self-build a 12-MW/12-MWh system, and a bid by EDF Renewables North America for a 60 MW/240 MWh PV and battery system.

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