Mayor Harry Kim will dedicate the systems
during Tuesday's invitation-only ceremony at Big Island
Toyota and Big Island Suzuki at 811 Kanoelehua Ave., in
Hilo.
The dealerships, owned by David S. De Luz,
Sr. Enterprises Inc., did not incur capital outlay or
balance sheet liability, said Marco Mangelsdorf, president
of Hilo-based ProVision Technologies Inc., the licensed
electrical contractor that designed and installed the
systems.
Saving one's own money at another's expense
sounds a bit Enronesque, but it isn't, in this case. Participants
do call it innovative financing, however.
In addition to the end-user dealerships,
the players include ProVision, Maryland-based solar energy
company SunEdison LLC and the Bank of Hawaii.
"SunEdison provides the system ...
Bankoh owns the system ... and they lease it back to SunEdison
and SunEdison in turn (sells) the power, the solar kilowatt-hours
to the end-user," Mangelsdorf said. Bankoh gets the
tax credit and depreciation.
The financing took three years to structure
but future arrangements won't take as long and the players
are eager to serve more commercial clients.
This is SunEdison's first such deal in
Hawaii, but its mainland clients include Staples , Home
Depot and Whole Foods, said Jae Kwak, Bankoh vice president
and senior lease officer.
Kwak gives seminars on Bankoh's solar energy
leasing plans. One method has the bank take ownership
of the equipment, for which it receives the tax credit
"and then we can provide a lower lease payment,"
Kwak said.
"We're speaking to state agencies,"
pitching cost- and energy-saving deals.
A new 64.5-kilowatt solar electric system
will provide for 20 to 25 percent of the Toyota side's
electrical need, while the 22-kilowatt system at Big Island
Suzuki will generate enough juice to cover 30 percent.
The dealerships were paying about 28 cents
a kilowatt-hour to the Hawaii Electric Light Co. , the
island's electric utility, but will pay SunEdison 21 cents,
a 25 percent savings. HELCO's rates have increased an
average of 5 percent a year over the past five years,
but SunEdison's annual increases will be capped at 2 percent,
Mangelsdorf said.
He tells people there is a theoretical possibility
that HELCO's rates could decrease. "They laugh at
me, but that's just full disclosure," he said.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4747, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu
Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu,
HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com
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