Stimulus Money to Help Finance Kahuku Wind Farm

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is providing $117 million to help finance the construction of the 30-MegaWatt wind farm in Kahuku. The construction is expected to support 200 jobs, with 6-10 full-time positions after completion...more at the Honolulu Advertiser.

Although First Wind has held meetings with the community, there are concerns by neighbors of noise pollution and shadows broadcast by the more than 200-foot tall turbine towers. A 1000-foot buffer requirement that is being proposed in the state legislature (Senate Bill 2526) may not be sufficient to minimize these impacts, but there are other procedures and regulations in place to deal with these concerns...more at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Help for Financing Home Solar Systems

The state of Hawaii is considering employing a "Property Assessed Clean Energy" bond fund to provide loans to homeowners to pay for the cost of installing solar hot water and photovoltaic electricity systems. The loans would be repaid through property tax assessments, and the loan would stay with the property, not the homeowner. Although there are concerns it would add to the state's debt, helping homeowners overcome the barrier of the high upfront costs would create green jobs and strengthen Hawaii's still small but rapidly growing renewable energy sector...more at the The Honolulu Advertiser.

Financing Photovoltaics for Your Faith Community

For many religious communities and other non-profits in Hawaii, there is a real desire and commitment to promote renewable energy. For homeowners and private businesses, the tax credits available from at the federal (30%) and state (35%) levels means that the purchase price can be significantly discounted, resulting in a payback period of 5-7 years. However, non-profits like religious communities don't pay taxes and thus can't take advantage of these discounts. How can these communities afford to purchase and install a PV system?

Well, there are options available for the creative and motivated religious community. Local solar companies are now offering power purchase agreements to several local faith communities. This is essentially a lease agreement in which the company installs a PV system for no upfront cost to the community, and the community in turn agrees to purchase the power generated at a discounted rate compared to the local electric utility. The California IPL has created a financing guide for religious communities that describes the PPA plus other ways to purchase and install a PV system. There are case studies in the guide, so you can learn from their experiences.

As always, feel free to contact HIPL with questions or to share your own experience with exploring or installing a renewable energy system.