news

Now for Hawaii Solar Programs in 2018 ‘Controllable Customer Grid Supply’ CGS+ and ‘Smart Export’

Original Article How to check if you will get approved The Hawaiian Electric Companies (HEI) will close the Customer Grid-Supply (CGS) programs that credit home solar customers for the excess electricity they send to the grid this Saturday, October 21st.  As of October 10th, the program had the following capacity remaining for rooftop solar. The main benefit of the CGS program is the customer’s ability to receive financial credit for selling excess solar energy back to the utility grid. The current prices being offered for your exported solar energy by the various utilities are as follows. The utility companies are expected to announce new, lower prices for CGS exported energy in the next few weeks. Of course, there are hundreds of CGS applications are already in line for processing. Please check where you are in the line: How do I check the status of my application? You can call or email… Read More »Update: Grid Supply does not end Saturday

Those white blocks are a few of the 272 battery packs that store and deliver 52 megawatt-hours of solar energy to the island of Kauai, as the sun goes down each day. The facility will generate about 10% of the island’s energy need, and will immediately reduce fossil-fuel usage by about 1.6 million gallons per year. As recently as 2014, Kauai generated 90% of its energy by burning fossil fuels. By 2016, KIUC has driven that down to 50%. The island, its people and leaders are straight up pioneers in the history of renewable energy. The project is the largest of its kind in the world. But they are more than that. KIUC is owned by its 24,000 customers. It is a working model of successful decentralization. A shining beacon of deliberative democracy and economic planning. Kumu Sabra Kauka officiates at the blessing of the Tesla battery storage facility, Wednesday… Read More »Meanwhile on Kauai, a sea of solar energy

Rising Sun chief executive officer and co-founder Matias Besasso explained to the group that solar is alive and well in Hawaii, in fact its even better than before because now we can store solar energy in batteries and use it at night and when the grid goes down. Maui Electric Company’s current home solar program – Customer Self Supply program (CSS) – is the present and future of solar in Hawaii. It provides a clear and convenient path for homeowners to install solar panels in Hawaii. CSS customers will save $1000s by switching to a 100% clean home solar system. They will also be a critical part of reaching Hawaii’s goal of powering our island home with 100% renewable energy by 2040. Today’s home solar systems are powered directly by the sun during the day and store excess energy in a home battery that powers the home in the evening.… Read More »Aloha of Solar Showcases Solar Panels and Tesla Powerwall

Mrs. Walsh chose Sunrun’s Brightbox option that allows her to get both solar panels and the battery for no money down and receive significant savings on her energy costs. Kitty Walsh says, “Our family is excited to participate in the Customer Self Supply Program. The Brightbox system was financed by Sunrun. We did not pay for installation, or start-up costs, and will be saving on monthly electrical bills. An added benefit of the Tesla Powerwall home battery is back-up power in the event of a power outage.” The new CSS program provides a welcome solution for customers previously denied solar applications by the utility. In the past the utility refused many customers’ applications, often with the justification that the “circuit was saturated”. Rising Sun’s Brad Albert says, “Hawaii’s path toward 100% renewable energy will require us to store some of the solar energy produced during the day. The Tesla Powerwall allows… Read More »Maui’s first self-supply project