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KAHUKU — A lot has changed in 30 years. Just look at Kahuku.

Not far from where once stood and eventually failed, 12 new state-of-the-art Clipper Liberty turbines — each of which will be more than 400 feet tall and capable of generating more than 10 times as much electricity as the old models — will soon rise on Oahu’s North Shore.

Boston-based energy company First Wind officially broke ground Tuesday and expects to be generating electricity in a matter of months, said CEO Paul Gaynor.

Based on , the 30-megawatt Kahuku Wind system is expected to produce more than 80 million kilowatt-hours each year — enough to power 7,700 homes and reduce the state’s consumption of oil by 150,000 barrels annually.

“The Kahuku Wind project brings Hawaii another step closer to reducing our state’s dependence on imported foreign oil and increasing our energy security,” Gov. Linda Lingle said in a written statement. “These wind turbines will provide another source of clean energy for Oahu’s power grid, further building on the progress Hawaii has made in becoming a world leader in clean energy.”

While the most obvious difference between the old and new Kahuku projects may be the turbines, there’s an even more important technological advance. Turbine design seems to have plateaued. They can only grow so large, and experts generally agree that three blades is best. Where there is room for improvement is storage, and that’s where Kahuku Wind stands out.

Kahuku Wind, unlike the First Wind-operated 30-megawatt on Maui, will use a full-scale battery energy storage system. So-called “power management” will serve as a shock absorber and make wind energy usable even for small energy grids like Hawaii’s, said Carlos Coe, CEO of , the Texas company that developed the system.

“The grid will see this site as a stabilizing influence, not a destabilizing influence,” Coe said in an interview with Civil Beat following the groundbreaking ceremony.

Variability is the last drawback for renewable energy technologies like wind and solar, he said. The challenge with them is that they’re not consistent sources of power, so when peak loads occur, they may not be able to be tapped for energy — without a storage system. It can also be a problem if supply overwhelms demand. The power company has to balance the two. Plugging renewable technologies into the grid on a large scale without compromising stability is the last hurdle to implementing them on a wide scale.

The Kahuku system is not quite at the point where the grid will be unable to feel the difference between wind and traditional generation facilities that provide firm power by burning fossil fuels, but it’s getting close. The technology to do so is ready, but the economics still don’t work, Coe said.

Power storage and management systems like the one Xtreme Power is installing at Kahuku will be critical if Hawaii moves forward with plans to construct 400 megawatts of wind power on Molokai and Lanai and transmit that power back to Oahu’s population center via an underwater cable.

The battery system will allow the project to increase its “capacity factor” — a measure of a facility’s true output versus its conceptual maximum. Because wind is so intermittent, the 30-megawatt number is not attainable around the clock. But efficient storage can bump the capacity factor from around 30 percent to as high as 60 percent, Hawaiian Electric Company spokesman Peter Rosegg said Tuesday.

In addition to Lingle, First Wind’s Gaynor and Coe, other speakers included Hawaii Sens. and , HECO President and CEO Dick Rosenblum, Makani Nui Associates senior partner Kent Smith, general contractor RMT President Steve Johannsen and turbine manufacturer Clipper Wind Chief Commercial Officer Bob Gates.

The blessing and digging ceremony was presided over by Kahu Kordell Kekoa of the Bishop Memorial Church. Throughout the event, the wind blew, sometimes steady, sometimes in gusts.

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