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Hmm, for the people who had systems put in and then couldn't connect, did their electricians get the connection permit before installing the system or did they install it and then go looking for the permits? I do drafting for a solar installer and he never starts installation for a system until he's got the permission to connect. None of his systems have been sitting there not making electricity after they've been installed. It may not be HELCO/HECO causing the problems.
Hmm, for the people who had systems put in and then couldn't connect, did their electricians get the connection permit before installing the system or did they install it and then go looking for the permits? I do drafting for a solar installer and he never starts installation for a system until he's got the permission to connect. None of his systems have been sitting there not making electricity after they've been installed. It may not be HELCO/HECO causing the problems.
I have no doubt that a lot of this was solar installers getting out ahead of themselves, but they had been used to getting their permit applications rubber stamped without delay, and then overnight they were being refused. All of them. With no real warning. And the cut-off was based on practically no evidence at all. It was all about "possible" problems, despite the fact that on the Big Island there were points on the grid where the saturation of solar grid-ties were 4X more than anything on Oahu without any problems.
I think that had more to do with HECOs desire to preserve their business model than anything else. This kind of utility company resistance to the rapidly diversifying renewable energy scene, with its attendant decentralization of the sources of of energy, is happening all over the country.
Yeah, OK, drag your feet HECO, I get it, but change is inevitable and you can't keep it up forever. The PUC will straighten you out eventually. But hanging people out to dry who were dealing with you in good faith... not cool, HECO, not cool.
That doesn't address the concerns of people who have been waiting over a year just to get their permits approved after HECO abruptly shut down the process in September 2013, just to be told now it will take until next spring earliest. I guess they must be on Island Time.
Remember this, from OCTOBER 15, 2013?
I would think they could get battery storage (for addistional cost, of course) and an inverter and go off grid altogether, but it would depend on the size of the solar systems - i.e. does it generate enough to meet ALL user electrical demands.
Also, it may be cost prohibitive to get a battery/inverter set up, but boy would I be mad if HECO was slow rolling my connection of my solar system to the grid forcing me to pay twice for electricity!
H.E. got the shut down, seems they were wanting to do a PV farm at the Kahe location the the big shut down..
also they are dragging their feet as to hooking up the people who do put PV on their homes... Hard to let go of eventual lost revenue...
I think, If I heard right they want to charge everyone who has PV 50$ a month for?? I guess you could say easy money.
Last I seen in the news there is a low income housing complex. The residents are going to start being billed for their electric. H.E. wants 1k from each of them, seems they want the money up front so that if they skipped out on a bill... hmmm I have never heard of any of the new home I built that the people had to pay it forward...
all in all as more people go to PV there is less and less of a budget for H.E. Hawaiian tel once had a monopoly on the land lines... hmmm...
Last I seen in the news there is a low income housing complex. The residents are going to start being billed for their electric. H.E. wants 1k from each of them, seems they want the money up front so that if they skipped out on a bill... hmmm I have never heard of any of the new home I built that the people had to pay it forward...
Since you put out incorrect information, I'll help clarify for you.
The housing authority at Puuwai Momi in Aiea used to pay the electricity for the tenants. Now the tenants have to pay the electric bill. The electric company does not want $1,000 from each of them. If you don't have good credit or direct deposit to pay the bill, the electric company wants a 2 month deposit that they require of any resident with bad credit. You'd have to have a $500/month electric bill for a $1,000 deposit - $500/month in a small apartment is a crazy amount of usage - part of the plan for residents paying their own bill is to get the electric usage down.
I think, If I heard right they want to charge everyone who has PV 50$ a month for?? I guess you could say easy money.
Since you put out incorrect information, I'll help clarify for you.
If you have a grid-tied solar system, in which you trade electricity back and forth with the utility, the minimum monthly bill is $20, to cover their investment in the electric grid and backup generators used to stabilize current fluctuations and provide power at night.
If you have a standalone system, with no connection to the grid, there is no charge by the utility.
They promised to speed up the permitting process, but they've actually slowed it down so much they're killing the business...
Quote:
Roof solar permits issued in Honolulu fall 50%
The number of rooftop solar permits Hono*lulu issued in November fell by 50 percent from the prior year, marking 19 months of year-over-year decline for the solar industry.
The City and County of Honolulu issued 520 rooftop solar building permits last month compared with 1,040 in November 2013. Permits issued since the beginning of the year saw a drop of 51 percent with 5,914 issued through November 2014 compared with 12,163 in the first 11 months of 2013, said Marco Man*gels*dorf, president of Hilo-based ProVision Solar.
Leslie Cole-Brooks, executive director of the Hawaii Solar Energy Association, said she was disappointed with the results because the winter months tend to have more customers due to homeowners wanting to get a tax credit before the end of the year."It's surprising to see," Cole-Brooks said. "Traditionally this is the busy time of the year for us. If the customer purchases their system at the end of the year, they get their credit back when they submit their tax return."
A 30 percent federal tax credit is available to Hawaiian Electric Co. customers who install solar systems. The federal tax credit is set to end Dec. 31, 2016. There is also a state tax credit for photovoltaic system installations of 35 percent up to $5,000 per system, which doesn't have an expiration date.
So what's the problem? In September of 2013 HECO abruptly required any customers intending to connect a solar system to the power grid to have an approved permit from them before installing their system... leaving countless "in-process" installations in limbo. This abrupt rules change was considered by many to be a major setback for the solar industry. And despite promises to speed up the process, it has actually slowed down.
Quote:
In an Oct. 31 letter to the Public Utilities Commission, the utility said it had 4,807 solar customers waiting for approval. The utility promised to approve all but a few hundred of those by April and the rest by December 2015.
Interest in rooftop solar has cooled off due to the perceived long wait, said Jeff Lum, project manager at Alternate Energy.
"People are afraid of that. It makes them more hesitant to move forward," Lum said.
Worse, the pending sale of HECO to NextEra Energy, of Juno Beach, FL has locals concerned.
NextGen is known to be hostile to rooftop solar. In their home state of Florida, they have over 4.7 million customers, but a mere 2,565 solar installations, versus the 11% HECO currently supports.
I predict a couple of rough years ahead unless the PUC steps in.
Location: not sure, but there's a hell of a lot of water around here!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OpenD
I predict a couple of rough years ahead unless the PUC steps in.
I don't see what you're so concerned about. With the price of crude down to almost half of what it was in June of this year, and the Keystone pipeline going through thanks to a Republican congress, I'm sure my future electric bills will be about half of what they were just a few months ago.
I don't see what you're so concerned about. With the price of crude down to almost half of what it was in June of this year, and the Keystone pipeline going through thanks to a Republican congress, I'm sure my future electric bills will be about half of what they were just a few months ago.
Converting to solar isn't just about lowering bills... it's also about eliminating carbon emissions and reducing fuel imports.
We have more than enough free solar energy to power the island, plus we have geothermal, hydrothermal, hydropower, and wind power... we've been a leader in converting to clean renewable energy, and now HECO has figured out out to stall the train... just slow everything down until the big tax incentives run out...
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