Resort Cooling Backup (West Maui)

Overview

Kā‘anapali Royal is a residential resort community in West Maui, located above the Royal Kā‘anapali Golf Course and minutes from Kā‘anapali Beach.

For a property in one of Maui’s most recognized resort areas, maintaining comfortable indoor conditions is essential. The community’s North and South Chiller plants serve central cooling systems across the property and represent significant electrical loads.

To reduce utility consumption, increase the value of on-site solar generation, and provide backup power for critical cooling infrastructure, Pacific Energy designed and installed two coordinated solar-plus-storage systems serving the property’s chiller plants.

Together, the systems combine 381.15 kW of solar generation, 360 kW of inverter capacity, and 1.26 MWh of nominal battery energy storage.

Challenge

Electricity costs in Hawaii can create a significant operating expense for properties with large mechanical and cooling loads.

At Kā‘anapali Royal, the central chiller plants are essential to maintaining comfort for residents and guests. The property needed an energy system that could reduce utility consumption during normal operation while also supporting chiller operation during utility outages.

Key challenges included:

• Backup power for the North and South Chiller plants
• Three-phase power conversion at 480 V
• Increased use of on-site solar generation
• Battery charging during periods of available solar production
• Stored energy for self-consumption and time-of-use energy management
• Separate systems serving each chiller location
• Equipment suitable for Maui’s outdoor environment

Requirement

Support the property’s central cooling infrastructure with a solar-plus-storage system capable of reducing utility consumption, shifting energy use away from higher-cost utility periods, and maintaining chiller operation during outages.

Solution

Pacific Energy installed separate but coordinated solar-plus-storage systems at the North and South Chiller locations.

Each chiller site includes three Sol-Ark 60K-3P-480V hybrid inverters and three Discover AES 210 energy storage cabinets. Locating battery storage and inverter capacity at each chiller plant aligns the energy system with the cooling load it supports.

During normal operation, solar generation can serve the chiller loads directly and charge the batteries. Stored energy can then be discharged later to increase solar self-consumption and reduce utility usage during higher-cost time-of-use periods.

During a utility outage, the systems transition to backup operation, using available solar and stored battery energy to support the North and South Chiller plants.

Application

Commercial solar and battery energy storage for central chiller backup, solar self-consumption, and time-of-use energy management.

Outcome

The completed system allows Kā‘anapali Royal to use Maui’s solar resource to support the equipment responsible for maintaining comfortable conditions throughout the property.

The six Discover AES 210 cabinets extend the value of the solar arrays by storing energy for use when it provides the greatest benefit. Rather than relying only on solar production at the moment it is generated, the property can use stored energy for self-consumption, time-of-use management, and chiller backup.

Key benefits include:

• Backup power for both central chiller plants

• Greater use of locally generated solar energy

• Increased solar self-consumption

• Reduced utility consumption during higher-cost time-of-use periods

• Lower exposure to changing island energy costs

• Greater operational flexibility during utility interruptions

• Improved energy resilience for the property

By combining solar generation, hybrid inverter capacity, and battery energy storage, Kā‘anapali Royal has created an energy system that helps lower operating costs during normal conditions and supports critical cooling infrastructure during utility outages.

What Makes This Project Unique

Cooling infrastructure as the backed-up load

The system is designed specifically to support the North and South Chiller plants, helping maintain comfort for residents and guests.

Two coordinated energy systems

Separate solar-plus-storage systems serve each chiller location, aligning generation and storage with the loads they support.

1.26 MWh of battery energy storage

Six Discover AES 210 cabinets provide large-scale storage capacity for self-consumption, time-of-use management, and backup operation.

Solar + storage value stack

The system supports multiple goals at once: reducing utility consumption, increasing solar self-consumption, shifting energy use, and improving resilience.

Built for an established Maui community

The project brings modern renewable-energy and backup-power infrastructure to a residential resort property in one of West Maui’s most recognized destinations.

Project Partner

Pacific Energy designed and installed the coordinated solar-plus-storage systems serving the North and South Chiller plants at Kā‘anapali Royal.

Greentech Renewables Maui supported the project as the local distribution partner. Based in Kahului and serving Maui County, Greentech Renewables Maui provides solar equipment, local inventory, product expertise, and sales support for solar and energy storage projects across the island.