The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative is poised to build a second 12-megawatt solar power-generating facility and could begin construction next year when it signs a lease with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

The Garden Island newspaper reported that the project cleared a hurdle when the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service issued a "Finding of No Significant Impact" for the Anahola Solar Project.

The Hawaiian Homes Commission voted unanimously in September to accept the environmental assessment.

The proposed $50 million project along Kuhio Highway would consist of a 53-acre photovoltaic facility, a 5-acre service station and a substation. The facility is projected to generate more than 23,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year and replace 1.7 million gallons of oil.