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This will be welcome news to many, but I still have to ask... why so slow?
Quote:
Hawaiian Electric to allow thousands more rooftop solar connections to grid
UPDATED: Nov 3, 2014, 3:07pm HST
Duane Shimogawa - Reporter, Pacific Business News
Hawaiian Electric Co. plans to clear the way for thousands of rooftop solar energy systems on Oahu to connect to its grid by December 2015, according to a letter the utility sent to Hawaii regulators last Friday.
The letter is in response to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission's request for information on the progress of interconnecting rooftop solar systems on Oahu, which total 4,807 as of late October. Of the 4,807 customers currently "in the queue," HECO said that it already is in the process of approving 2,058 customers, and of the remaining 2,749 customers, it will approve at least 2,500 of that amount by April. The remaining systems will be approved by December 2015.
HECO noted that it's using inverter technology to help interconnect more systems. It also is working on other solutions to tackle these interconnection challenges, including instituting such programs as energy storage and community solar in the first half of 2015. HECO also said that as part of its new energy plan, it is pursuing or proposing grid-scale storage, smart grid investments, the installation of monitors on circuits, low-cost grid-scale renewable energy projects and demand response programs.
The Hawaiian Electric Cos. have approved about 7,500 systems thus far this year, bringing the total number of rooftop solar projects approved for interconnection to a total of about 48,000 customers or about 11 percent of all customers, which is about 20 times greater than the national average of 0.5 percent at the end of 2013, according to the Solar Electric Power Association.
Maui and the Big Island currently has 333 and 336 systems, respectively, waiting for approval. <more>
This will be welcome news to many, but I still have to ask... why so slow?
From your own article:
"HECO noted that it's using inverter technology to help interconnect more systems. It also is working on other solutions to tackle these interconnection challenges, including instituting such programs as energy storage and community solar in the first half of 2015."
I would suspect acquiring the technology in conjunction with available resources/people to apply the technology on an aging grid system would be the underlying issue.
"The Hawaiian Electric Cos. have approved about 7,500 systems thus far this year, bringing the total number of rooftop solar projects approved for interconnection to a total of about 48,000 customers or about 11 percent of all customers, which is about 20 times greater than the national average of 0.5 percent at the end of 2013, according to the Solar Electric Power Association." (emphasis added by me)
"HECO noted that it's using inverter technology to help interconnect more systems. It also is working on other solutions to tackle these interconnection challenges, including instituting such programs as energy storage and community solar in the first half of 2015."
I would suspect acquiring the technology in conjunction with available resources/people to apply the technology on an aging grid system would be the underlying issue.
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?
Quote:
Some Solar Customers Getting Burned in Limbo
If you feel a twinge of resentment each time you pay your electricity bill each month, imagine how you’d feel if you had to pay it twice monthly.
That is pretty much what William Walker does. He pays Hawaiian Electric Co. about $250 a month and he pays $300 monthly installments for the new solar panels on his roof in Ewa.
Usually people pay a sizable bill to HECO or they invest in solar. So why is Walker doing both?
The answer is that his new rooftop panels aren’t generating any electricity so, while his solar payments were supposed to cancel out his normal electricity bill, he has to pay both. And since solar panels must be active for users to qualify for tax credits, he hasn’t gotten any help from either the state or federal government.
Walker isn’t alone — hundreds of Oahu customers have gotten burned in their transition to solar. They have gotten caught in limbo since September 6 when HECO changed the rules for connecting solar systems. Some Solar Customers Getting Burned in Limbo - Civil Beat
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?
It's been fairly well known there is overloading the grid concerns.
Sounds like they've gotten the technology and people to address. They've been upfront on the issue.
"The Hawaiian Electric Cos. have approved about 7,500 systems thus far this year, bringing the total number of rooftop solar projects approved for interconnection to a total of about 48,000 customers or about 11 percent of all customers, which is about 20 times greater than the national average of 0.5 percent at the end of 2013, according to the Solar Electric Power Association." (emphasis added by me) From the same article.
Yes, fabulous, isn't it? Hawai'i is in a perfect position to take a leadership role on residential solar energy, and is already steaming ahead on new installations. That's why the US Navy invested over $30 Million in Hawai'i's Energy Excelerator program, and why the DoD has invested $Millions installing solar PV panels on nearly every military property in the state.
It's been fairly well known there is overloading the grid concerns.
Sounds like they've gotten the technology and people to address. They've been upfront on the issue.
Upfront, perhaps. Speedy to resolve the issue? Not so much. It seems it has taken some prodding from the PUC to get this much.
Remember, those people who installed their systems in good faith over a year ago and then were hung out to dry were given no advance warning HECO was going to slam the gates shut on them.
Upfront, perhaps. Speedy to resolve the issue? Not so much.
Could they have gone faster - perhaps. Have they had higher priorities such as the storms/lava diverting resources - perhaps. Maybe other infrastructure priorities in general were higher.
What I tend to remind people is many things don't move as fast as we'd like in Hawaii not always because of Hawaii time - but often because of a people/resource issue. Especially since unemployment is low on Oahu and Hawaii in general. It isn't like qualified people to install/understand the technology and apply it are just walking the streets of Honolulu looking for a job. It is a significant difference than the mainland where you can ramp up people much faster.
Could they have gone faster - perhaps. Have they had higher priorities such as the storms/lava diverting resources - perhaps. Maybe other infrastructure priorities in general were higher.
What I tend to remind people is many things don't move as fast as we'd like in Hawaii not always because of Hawaii time - but often because of a people/resource issue. Especially since unemployment is low on Oahu and Hawaii in general. It isn't like qualified people to install/understand the technology and apply it are just walking the streets of Honolulu looking for a job. It is a significant difference than the mainland where you can ramp up people much faster.
That's one possibility. Another is that they just really didn't want to do it until the PUC made them do it. And my evidence is that none of the problems they said they were afraid of showed up on the Big Island, even though it was running or 4 or 5 times the density of solar installs as Oahu.
They could have given notice they were changing their procedure, and they could have given notice before people spent tens of thousands of dollars on systems they couldn't use due to the very abrupt change in policy. That's my main beef with them. They mistreated their customers.
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