One renewable energy source — solar electric or photovoltaic (PV) power — has the potential to provide greater energy independence to more Hawai'i homes and businesses in the near-term; yet only glacier-like progress is being made in the adoption of this technology.
One would think that a 25 percent or more increase in the price of utility power in the past year should be enough to motivate homeowners and businesses to explore PV as a way of stabilizing their energy costs. One also would think that paying the highest electricity rates in the nation — more than 40 cents/kilowatt-hour on Kaua'i, Moloka'i and Lana'i — would support a breakout of grid-connected PV sales. But that has not been the case. Grid-connected PV systems, for example, comprise only 12/100ths of 1 percent of the state's total electric generating capacity.
For those of us in the trenches, it's surprising that Hawai'i does not lead the U.S. in the adoption of grid-tie PV while on a per-capita basis we do lead the nation with the installation of solar water heating systems. A number of factors can be identified that have made PV applications a tough sell:
• The substantial upfront cost. Modest 2-kilowatt to 3-kilowatt residential PV systems are going in at an installed price of $20,000 to $25,000. Such an investment represents a sizable discretionary purchase. Despite the combined $7,000 federal and state tax credits and availability of financing solutions, homeowners have not been enthusiastic to take out a second mortgage or open a home credit line to go solar electric.
• PV is still mysterious. Committed educational efforts to demonstrate that solar electric systems are a here-and-now, available technology have been lacking. While the solar water heating option is heavily promoted by the utility companies, no such commensurate effort is coming from either our electric utility friends or the state.
• There is little or no sense of urgency. Take the frog-in-the-pot-of-warming-water analogy. As the water slowly gets hotter over time, the frog uncomfortably takes notice without feeling the need to leap out. This aptly describes businesses and homeowners who send incrementally larger checks to the power companies. They notice the increased pain of each payment without feeling a strong enough need to do something about it.
• A risk-averse local buying culture. Hawai'i has abundant sunshine, the highest electric rates in the nation, and reasonable PV incentives. Businesses receive a combined 65 percent federal and state tax credit, and accelerated depreciation, making commercial PV almost a no-brainer. Yet a subtle conservatism has consumers often waiting for their friends and neighbors to be the first, second or third on the block to purchase a solar electric system before considering doing the same.
There are some signs of hope. From 2006 to 2007, Hawai'i's total number of net energy metered PV systems — where solar electric system purchasers receive credit for their solar power at the full retail rate — almost doubled from 210 to 415, with a total of 2.267 megawatts installed. The Public Utilities Commission is expected soon to approve increasing the maximum size for net energy metered systems from 50 kilowatts to 100 kilowatts. This will make larger systems more attractive to business owners and their financial advisers. The governor and Legislature are supportive of bringing more renewables on line faster. And, a proposed PV buy-down program and other bills making their way through the Legislature promise to open the floodgates of demand for grid-tie solar electric systems.
Perhaps then the enthusiastic talk of tapping into the power of the sun, wind, ocean and heat of the Earth to develop Hawai'i as a showcase for a green energy-based economy will lead to actual results. It remains to be seen whether $100-a-barrel oil will be motivation enough to have reality match the rhetoric.
Marco Mangelsdorf is president of ProVision Technologies Inc. of Hilo. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.
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