Hawaii Engineering Group engineered a 1.094 MW DC / 0.78 MW AC ground-mounted PV system with Tesla battery storage for a macadamia orchard and processing facility near Hilo, designed to operate within a microgrid with diesel and steam generation.
Client: Distributed Solar Operations, LLC
Service: Structural, civil and electrical engineering for ground-mount PV and BESS; microgrid support
Completed on: April 2020
For the Mauna Loa Solar project, Hawaii Engineering Group designed 2,772 ground-mounted PV modules on racking served by 13 inverters, delivering 1.094 MW DC / 0.78 MW AC, coupled to a Tesla BESS (approx. 223 kWh, 430 kW). The team provided topographic and site surveys, grading and drainage design, equipment pad design, and structural support for racking foundations. Electrical design covered array layouts, battery integration and controls, and coordination with the utility’s interconnection and protection requirements. After commissioning, the system was configured as part of a microgrid that also included diesel and steam turbine generators, requiring careful load-sharing and operational planning. The result is a resilient renewable energy system that supports both agricultural operations and grid stability.
