Hawaii's solar power flare-up: Too much of a good thing?

This is a very interesting article from The LA Times and points to the complicated financial picture of moving energy into renewables.

What appears to be a very good model, Hawaii's aggressive renewable-energy program and the effective use of tax credits, has pushed maybe too hard in growing their solar industry.  Clearly the utility is wrestling with how to best integrate that power into their grid given its unpredictable nature.  And, the State is feeling the financial effects of loss revenue as people and companies take full advantage of the credits.

What we don't want to see is a success turn into a failure.  We do not want to see State's, and even the federal govt, shelve credits and incentives that are helping to move us away from fossil fuel.

There's been talk for years now about smart grids and their ability to manage energy.  Why are we not seeing this in Hawaii?  Clearly, taking advantage of the sun's energy, and reducing their dependence on expensive, centrally produce electricity is good for that State, and their citizens, in so many ways.  They need to be smart in adjusting the system to best capture the energy, so that it does not cause failures in the system, and finance in ways that makes economic sense for everyone.

Good story.  Our thanks to the LA Times:


Part One:  By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times

November 17, 2012, 5:53 p.m.

WAILUKU, Hawaii — On an island whose stock in trade is sun, and lots of it, Lawrence and Cindy Lee figured they'd be foolish not to join their neighbors and put a few solar panels on the roof.

The Lees called one of the solar contractors racing around Hawaii these days, and put in their order. Eleven months later, in October — after endless consultations, emails and a $3,000 study required by Maui Electric Co. — they were still waiting for a permit.

"Instead of it being like they want to help you get your solar system in," Lawrence Lee said, "it's more like they don't want you to."

Solar power has grown increasingly popular across the U.S. Sun Belt, but hardly anywhere has it taken hold as it has in Hawaii. Friendly tax credits, the highest average electricity rates in the nation and the most aggressive renewable energy program adopted by any state have sent homeowners scrambling to install photovoltaic systems on their roofs.

The number of solar power systems across the island state has doubled every year since 2007, with nearly 20,000 units installed. But with homeowners and businesses now producing nearly 140 megawatts of their own power — the equivalent of a medium-size power plant — and solar tax credits biting seriously into the state budget, Hawaii legislators and electrical utilities are tapping the brakes.

Solar tax credits cost the state $173.8 million this year in foregone revenue, up from $34.7 million in 2010, prompting state tax authorities to announce this month that they will temporarily cut the tax credit in half, effective Jan. 1.

Hawaiian Electric Co. on Oahu, which oversees subsidiary utilities on Maui and the Big Island, has warned that the explosion of do-it-yourself solar could threaten parts of the power grid with the possibility of power fluctuations or sporadic blackouts as the power generated by homeowners —unpredictable and subject to sudden swings — exceeded output from power plants in some areas..."