Hawaiian Electric nears completion of $1.7M weather station project to help prevent wildfires

Hawaiian Electric Co. expects to fully complete its $1.7 million weather station project by the end of the month to help the company better predict and respond to weather conditions that could spark wildfires.

Hawaiian Electric, which is installing a network of 52 weather stations on four islands that will provide details on wind, temperature, and humidity, said July 24 that weather stations already have been installed at 31 high-priority locations during the first phase of the project.

Another 21 more are scheduled for installation by the end of this month, and once completed, there will be 23 weather stations on Maui, 15 on The Big Island, 12 on Oahu, and two on Molokai, the company said.

“These weather stations will play a critical role as we continue to take action to address the growing risk of wildfires,” said Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric’s senior vice president and chief operations officer. “The detailed information they provide will allow us to take preventative action more quickly to protect public safety.”

The weather stations, which will be mounted on Hawaiian Electric utility poles, will provide meteorological data that will help the company decide whether to activate and deactivate a public safety power shutoff (PSPS), the company said.

Under the PSPS program launched July 1, Hawaiian Electric may preemptively shut off power in areas that are at high risk of wildfires during periods when high winds and dry conditions are forecasted.

The company said that roughly 50 percent of the project costs will be covered by federal funds allocated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, estimated at $95 million in grant funding covering various costs related to Hawaiian Electric’s resiliency and wildfire mitigation work.

The weather stations are solar-powered and record temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and direction. Hawaiian Electric plans to share the data with the National Weather Service, as well as academic institutions and other weather forecasting services to help improve the state’s overall ability to accurately forecast potential fire weather conditions.

The weather station project is one of nearly two dozen safety measures Hawaiian Electric is implementing to reduce the potential for wildfires associated with company infrastructure in higher-risk areas.

Other facets of the company’s multi-pronged Wildfire Safety Strategy include the installation of AI-enhanced, high-resolution wildfire detection cameras, the deployment of spotters in risk areas, and the implementation of fast-trip settings to automatically shut off power on a circuit in a risk area when a disturbance is detected on the circuit.

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