"I'm doing it to influence other people
and to help the environment," said the owner of Island
Naturals Market & Deli. "I think it will be a
good statement for us as a business."
It's also good for his pocketbook. Ruderman
spends about $5,000 a month on electricity to power his
6,000-square-foot grocery. When the solar panels are installed,
they should shave 10 percent off his electric bill.
Higher energy costs from rising oil prices
have resulted in a renewed focus on the use of alternatives
such as solar energy. Imported oil supplies 90 percent
of the state's energy needs, according to the state Department
of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
Unlike the Mainland, Hawai'i can't turn
to adjacent states for help in an energy shortage. But
it is blessed with an abundance of natural energy sources,
including sun, wind, water and geothermal heat from volcanic
areas.
Earlier this month, Gov. Linda Lingle signed
into law a bill that requires utility companies —
such as Hawaiian Electric Co. — to have 20 percent
of its sales come from renewable sources by 2020. Currently,
about 7 percent of the state's energy needs come from
renewables.
The governor also signed a bill that extends
solar energy tax credits to families and businesses by
another five years, to January 2008.
Hawai'i is the solar water heating capital
of the country, with half of the nation's homes with these
systems in the Islands. In December, HECO's solar water
heating program received an outstanding achievement award
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the second
such recognition in a row.
But beyond heating water, the use of solar
energy to generate electricity remains limited. One of
the biggest hurdles is the cost, which runs from about
$5,000 to power a small home to millions of dollars for
large businesses.
It's not unusual for the price tag to reach
several hundred thousand dollars to power a business,
said John Crouch, Pacific Region director of PowerLight
Corp., the largest designer and integrator of commercial
solar electric systems in the country.
A Hilo-based company has a system to make
solar energy affordable by shifting the capital requirements
onto investors.
ProVision Technologies, one of a handful
of solar energy companies in Hawai'i, recently launched
its investor program with C&H Solar Power in California.
Under the program, business customers would get the solar
modules for free and pay a negotiated rate for electricity.
President Marco Mangelsdorf said the rate
is lower than what HECO or its subsidiaries would charge,
saving companies 10 percent to 50 percent off their electricity
bill. The customer has to sign a 10-, 15- or 25-year contract
that locks in the rates.
C&H would gather a group of investors
to put up the capital and buy the solar module. They would
profit from the electricity rate paid by the customer
as well as significant tax breaks provided under federal
and state law, said David Fradin, managing partner of
C&H.
The program is only for business customers
because the investment wouldn't make sense without the
tax breaks, which favor commercial users.
Hawai'i gives a 35 percent tax credit on
solar energy systems with a $250,000 cap and the systems
can be depreciated over five years on state and federal
tax forms.
About a dozen states have done what Hawai'i
just mandated — they require a portion of their
utilities' revenue to come from renewable energy. Some
utilities that can't meet the requirement have resorted
to buying them from users of solar energy, Fradin said.
That means a power company could buy part
of the energy generated by solar power at an auto dealership.
The purchase would be credited toward the utility's revenue
and meet state regulations.
The practice of matching investors with
users has been around for about three years nationally,
Maycock said. Because of steep tax breaks and low interest
rates on loans, investors can get a rate of return of
15 to 20 percent a year, he said.
Island Naturals has signed a 10-year contract
with ProVision to join this program. So did Stephen and
Marjorie Chase, hardware store owners in Pahoa on the
Big Island.
The Chases, who are moving their Pahoa Hardware
store to an 8,000-square-foot location in August, said
their solar panels will shave 20 to 25 percent off their
electricity bill. They are currently paying $300 a month
for their existing 3,000-square-foot store.
"It wasn't a huge amount of savings,"
she said. But "we really want to promote that kind
of technology."
For more solar and renewable energy news [SolarAccess.com]
