Maui County reaches rooftop solar program limit ADVERTISING Maui County reaches rooftop solar program limit WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — Maui Electric Co. is holding off on approving new rooftop solar systems after announcing Wednesday that the county reached the 5-megawatt
Maui County reaches rooftop solar program limit
WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — Maui Electric Co. is holding off on approving new rooftop solar systems after announcing Wednesday that the county reached the 5-megawatt limit for solar systems that can send power to its grid.
Starting next week, residents on Maui, Lanai and Molokai who want to install new solar systems will have to buy batteries to store any excess power generated by the panels. They won’t be able to send power to the grid.
The previous policy allowed customers to send excess power to the grid and receive a credit, often lowering their monthly bill to less than $20.
“These systems, sometimes consisting of dozens of panels, can export significantly more electricity to the grid than the household actually uses,” the utility said in its announcement. “As these large systems were installed, there was less room on the grid for additional systems.”
Solar energy groups criticized the Maui utility and argued the grid-supply system remained the “only functioning and viable option for customers to adopt rooftop solar.”
“Nonetheless, the Hawaiian Electric utilities remain adamantly opposed to reasonable efforts to extend the cap or to create a customer-friendly wait list,” the Hawaii Solar Energy Association said.
The Maui utility said residents can still purchase rooftop solar systems that don’t export power to the island-wide grid and reduce their electric bills. Jim Alberts, senior vice president of customer service at Hawaiian Electric Co., said the battery systems, also known as “self-supply,” are a good option for customers.
Last year, the state Public Utilities Commission put a 35-megawatt limit on the total amount of energy generated from the grid-supply program statewide and a 5-megawatt limit for Maui.
The state is set to revisit solar rules in October 2017.
“It’s our hope that the PUC will act quickly to raise the grid-supply cap on Maui and throughout the state of Hawaii,” said Robert Harris of the Alliance for Solar Choice.
Recovery effort ends for UNR football player
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Placer County authorities ended their efforts to recover the body of a University of Nevada, Reno, football player who is presumed to have drowned in Lake Tahoe.
Marc Ma, 20, of Honolulu was on a paddle board trip with several football players June 10 when the group encountered strong winds off Lake Tahoe’s west shore. Ma’s board was found adrift.
Search and rescue crews have been looking for Ma’s remains using side-scan sonar and remote-operated underwater cameras. But sheriff’s officials said Wednesday that their efforts have been unsuccessful.
Although the search ended, Sgt. Dave Hunt says the case remains open.
Ma was a sophomore who played defensive end for the Nevada Wolf Pack.
