35th largest plant in Hawaii · 4560th nationally
Kanoelehua is a oil power plant in Hawaii with a nameplate capacity of 21.0 MW. It generates roughly 3.6k MWh per year — enough to power about 345 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 2% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 4509 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Kanoelehua |
|---|---|
| Operator | Hawaii Electric Light Co Inc |
| City | Hilo |
| County | Hawaii County |
| State | Hawaii |
| ZIP | 96720 |
| Coordinates | 19.70520, -155.06250 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CT1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 11.5 MW | Operating | 1962 |
| 15 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.5 MW | Operating | 1972 |
| 16 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.5 MW | Operating | 1972 |
| 17 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.5 MW | Operating | 1973 |
| 11 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.0 MW | Operating | 1962 |
| CO₂ | 8.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 23 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 66 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 4509 lb/MWh |
Annual totals and CO₂ rate reported by EPA eGRID for 2023. Reference averages are approximate U.S.-wide figures from the same dataset.
Oil-fired plants typically run only during peak demand or grid emergencies because oil is expensive compared to gas and coal. They have the highest CO₂ emissions per MWh of any common generation technology.