Categorized | Business, Energy

Banner year for solar power in Hawaii

MEDIA RELEASE

(Honolulu, Hawaii) Hawaii’s efforts to build a clean energy future got a tremendous boost in 2010 as the number of customer-sited solar electric installations on Oahu, Hawaii Island and Maui County more than doubled over 2009.

“Interest in solar power has steadily increased in recent years, but it really took off in 2010,” said Robbie Alm, Hawaiian Electric executive vice president. “This will help all of us in Hawaii as we continue to make progress in cutting our dependence on imported oil.”

As of December 31, 2010, a total of 3,967 solar power systems were connected with the Hawaiian Electric utilities, compared with 1,916 systems installed through 2009.

The totals include both systems with Net Energy Metering agreements and systems with standard interconnection agreements.

NEM agreements allow customers to receive full retail credit on their electric bills for excess electricity sent to the utility grid from customer-owned renewable energy systems. Projects operating on standard interconnection agreements use solar systems to generate power solely for the customers’ use. They do not feed electricity into the grid.

Interest in net energy metering started to increase in 2008, when crude oil prices spiked at $147 a barrel. Available state and federal tax credits also created incentives for customers interested in photovoltaic systems.

“We commend the solar industry for helping make Hawaii a solar leader. Coordinating with them, we have worked to make solar power more accessible for our customers,” Alm said.

In addition to the net energy metering program, electric customers and renewable energy developers are also taking advantage of other options to add solar power.

There are also currently 17 large photovoltaic projects with plans to take advantage of the new Feed-in Tariff program. The Feed-in Tariff program offers pre-established rates and standardized contract terms to make it easier for individuals, businesses, governmental entities and renewable energy developers to sell power to the utilities. When completed, these projects will have a combined capacity of approximately 3.2 megawatts.

Hawaiian Electric is also pursuing utility-scale solar power. Keahole Solar Power on the Hawaii Island currently operates a 500 kilowatt concentrated solar power system and Castle & Cooke operates a photovoltaic system on Lanai currently able to produce 600 kilowatts, with the potential to expand to 1.5 megawatts once its battery system is in place. Hawaiian Electric is also set to start negotiating with Castle & Cooke and others to purchase power from four five-megawatt PV installations planned for Castle & Cooke land in Mililani in Central Oahu. Other solar installations for Oahu are also in active negotiations.

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