Tag Archives: Hawaii

Adjourned Sine Die: Hawaii Storage Incentive Bill Fails To Get A Hearing

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened: Hawaii’s energy storage incentive legislation – Senate Bill (SB) 2100 – was adjourned “sine die,” or “without a day,” meaning it will get no more hearings in the current session.

  • The bill, which would have replaced the current renewable energy technology systems tax credit with tax credits for solar or wind energy systems and energy storage systems, would have been one of the first laws in the country to create an incentive for storage systems.
  • Without such legislation, it’s fair to ask how Hawaii will reach its mandated goal of reaching 100% clean energy by 2045.

    • storage

    SolarWakeup’s View:  Hawaii, with its abundant sunshine and high electricity prices – the penalty they pay for living in paradise – has made the island a hotbed for solar development since the industry’s early days. With an aggressive goal of reaching 100% clean energy by 2045, the solar industry has grown exponentially, and the Aloha State currently boasts one of the highest solar penetration rates in the country.

    But with that development has come speed bumps, including a sudden elimination of net metering that nearly strangled the industry, although development has continued, albeit more slowly, under other utility programs. Recently, the state has been trying to figure out how to integrate storage into its solar industry to encourage more self-consumption and less excess electricity export to the grid.

    One of the most recent attempts to integrate storage was Senate Bill (SB 2100), which would have changed the current solar tax credit system into a solar + storage tax credit system.

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    Unfortunately, SB 2100 failed to get out of committee during this legislative session, postponing any hearings on the bill indefinitely and effectively killing any chance it had of passage.

    The problem Hawaii faces isn’t entirely unique. It’s tough to sell incentives in a market that has scaled so rapidly and where prices have fallen so precipitously – and continue to do so. But it’s hard to imagine a world where the state can reach its goal of powering itself entirely by renewable energy by 2045 without something like SB 2100 in place.

    Let’s hope that the bill comes back next session and that Hawaii sees its way clear to continue its clean-energy leadership by passing it.

    More:

    Hawaii Senate Bill 2100 (Adjourned Sine Die)

    Hawaii Revolutionizes Consumer-Utility Relationship With New Law

    By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

    What Happened: Hawaii has rebalanced the relationship between utilities and their customers with a new law tying rate increases to performance data.

  • According to Hawaii Public Radio, “The Hawaii Ratepayer Protection Act will require the Public Utilities Commission, the PUC, to develop incentives for local electric companies to modernize and manage costs.’
  • The law takes effect July 1st. The PUC will then be required to create an incentive framework by January 1, 2020.

    • Hawaii

    SolarWakeup’s View:  To call Hawaii’s solar situation “complicated” would be like calling World War II a “kefuffle.” Ever since October 2015, when the PUC eliminated net metering precipitously (in the minds of many), the solar industry has struggled to re-find its identity. Hell, things in Hawaii were so bad that last year, the president of the Hawaii Solar Energy Association told an audience at Intersolar North America:

    ”I think people working in solar in Hawaii have reached the fifth stage of grief – acceptance – as many of us are looking at the impending death, for all intents and purposes, of the solar industry in the state,” he added.

    He also added that a painful (he called it “nasty, brutish and long”) transition from net-metering to three stopgap programs that have slowed residential installations to a crawl.

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    A law signed by Governor Daniel Ige, however, called the Hawaii Ratepayer Protection Act, could restart the business – at least that’s the hope of residential companies already heavily invested in the solar industry like Sunrun (emphasis added).

    “Other state Legislatures and Commissions should take notice of Hawaii’s efforts,” said Anne Hoskins, chief policy officer of Sunrun. “The time to make these changes is now, before billions of dollars are spent in rebuilding our outdated electrical networks. Rooftop solar and home batteries are allowing users to choose a system that maximizes public benefits, not utility shareholder profits. Let’s keep giving people the freedom to create a brighter future.”

    Any legislation that can help alleviate the mindless fighting between utilities and solar users is music to my ears. Let’s hope this new law can help the Aloha State return to its place as a leading residential solar state (and may this law, if it works, become a model for the rest of the country).

    More:

    Electricity Ratepayer Protection Act Signed Into Law (audio included) (HPR)