Hawaiian Electric Co. announced Thursday an agreement to buy solar power from a developer building a 1-megawatt photovoltaic project on a former industrial waste dump near Campbell Industrial Park.

The 12-acre project will feature 4,200 solar panels generating enough power to supply about 200 Oahu homes. The project is being developed by Forest City Hawaii, and the system will be designed and installed by Hoku Solar. The price for the power will not be disclosed until after the state Public Utilities Commission approves the agreement.

The site was used for industrial waste until 1986 when the Environmental Protection Agency ordered it closed.

Forest City said it hopes to have the project finished by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval.

"This project helps move Hawaii toward a clean energy future.

After the EPA closed the site, it was sealed under a plastic liner and a thick mound of asphalt. Because the cap must be undisturbed, the site had been unused until James Campbell Co. proposed it be used as a solar energy plant. Solar panels will be mounted on concrete bases, which will not penetrate the ground.

The project will operate under the name "Kapolei Sustainable Energy Park."

It is one of several solar projects being planned for West Oahu.

HECO has already signed power purchase agreements for two other photovoltaic projects of 5 megawatts each being developed by two mainland companies.

In addition, Honolulu-based Sopogy Inc. is has broken ground on a 5-megawatt project on a state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands site that will generate energy using micro-concentrated solar power technology. Sopogy’s system uses mirrored troughs to concentrate solar energy and create steam that turns a turbine to generate electricity.