The University of Hawaii announced Tuesday the state has reaffirmed its support for the school to build the world’s largest solar optical telescope on Maui’s Hale­akala.

UH President M.R.C. Greenwood said in a prepared statement she was eager to move forward with the development of the solar telescope.

“The Advanced Technology Solar Telescope is important both to the scientific community and to Hawaii’s economy,” she said.

But opponents have said the project will have a significant impact on scenic views and Native Hawaiian cultural resources.

Attorneys for the group Kila­kila o Hale­akala said it would disturb traditional cultural practices on a mountain that has numerous burials and sites considered sacred.

The $300 million solar telescope on the 10,000-foot summit will be the largest in an area known as “Science City,” about 50 feet higher than any of the other half-dozen observatories.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources reaffirmed its approval Friday, following hearings officer Lane Ishida’s recommendation. The Land Board had issued a conservation district use permit in December 2010. 

Hawaii Institute of Astronomy officials have called the project “the greatest advance in ground-based solar telescope capabilities since Galileo.”

At 4 meters in diameter, the solar telescope would be able to measure solar magnetic fields, with the goal of predicting changes in the sun. Scientists said the telescope could help to explain solar flares that can affect electrical power distribution, cellphones and satellites.

The National Solar Observatory said solar flares cause an estimated half-billion dollars in damage a year to satellites and communications, and that predicting solar flares could reduce the damage.

Haleakala was chosen from 70 competing sites worldwide.