Hawaii Solar Power Doubles in 2010

Hawaii residents’ photovoltaic solar installations increased almost 100% in 2010 over 2009, according to Hawaiian Electric Co. A total of 3,967 solar power systems were connected to the HECO grid on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, compared to 1,916 installations in 2009. The installations added 13 megawatts of capacity to the grid.

“This will help all of us in Hawaii as we continue to make progress in cutting our dependence on imported oil,” said Robbie Alm, HECO executive vice president, in a statement.

According to analysts, the totals include systems that have Net Energy Metering agreements and systems with standard interconnection agreements. NEM agreements give customers the ability to receive full retail credit on their electric bills for the excess electricity generated from their solar systems, while standard agreements generate power solely for a customer's use and do not supply the electrical grid.

Another reason for the tremendous increase in solar installations in Hawaii is that up to 65% of a solar installation’s cost can be covered by a combination of aggressive Hawaii state rebates and federal tax incentives. On top of this, Hawaiians pay, on average $0.285 per kilowatt hour as most the state’s electricity is produced by petroleum-burning generators. This is extremely high as compared to the rest of the country and as the price of oil fluctuates, so does the price for electricity in Hawaii. As a result, there is strong statewide incentive to switch to a different power source.

And, of course, Hawaii has no shortage of sun. The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative found that 70% of Hawaii’s energy could come from clean sources by 2030

Hawaii is also one the leaders in the U.S in solar water heaters as one in four single-family homes have them. Increasing the adoption of solar energy in Hawaii makes sense not only economically but environmentally as it helps preserve one the countries most beautiful spots and serves as an example for responsible energy production not matter how small the state.

Via Solar-Hawaii.org