HECO has a different rate tier for CGS systems and I don't think it is fair.
They don't pay you the fair rate for excess electricity you put into the grid. Instead they take the lower of the two : delivered electricity in KwH and received electricity in KhH (from your PV system) and then multiply it by .1507. That sum is then credited to your bill. I know there are some real engineers out there that can point out some way to get the max return on investment for this. I ran some scenarios where a user bought a system that produces higher than their avg consumption and another where a user get a system that delivers less. Both scenarios in my analysis - the homeowner doesn't win either on upfront, capital costs or not being paid fair rate. HECO current residential rate is at 28 cents per KwH and the credited rate for CGS is 15 cents

When solar was first introduced on a large scale, HECO offered the Net Metering program.  You could offset the cost of your electricity demand from HECO with excess solar electricity, but the price paid per kWh was slightly lower than the rate HECO charges.

HECO originally estimated that the grid could only support about a 20% conversion to solar.  After that, they claimed the grid was unable to handle the higher amount of electricity being conveyed.

Once solar customers approached the 20% saturation point, HECO "discovered" another problem:  HECO was losing money!!  NM customers were only paying about $18/mon for the minimum power bill (basically to cover administrative costs), but HECO had to still be producing the same level of electric service to meet the old, pre-solar demand.  On cloudy days or at night, the demand was always going to be higher, so HECO couldn't reduce their production just because 20% is being created by solar customers during sunny days.

They then opened up the current system to try to enable more people to get PV systems, without causing the sme impact on costs and revenues the NM program caused.

"We at HECO embrace clean, green, renewable energy to help make Hawaii energy-independent."

"What's this?  Solar customers are not paying huge electric bills anymore?  Ahhhhh!!!!  Stock Holders' Lives Matter!"

We were paying the $18 a month.
It’s gone up to under $30 a month. But still way better than before and as it stands, still worth the investment when we got the tax credit.
No idea if it’s market fair but just reporting our numbers.

Net metering is the best way but unfortunately only offered to kick start the movement to homeowner PV. With HECO closing its fossil fueled production facility and sub contracting out to solar farms their argument of PV saturation doesn't make sense or is untrue.

Net metering is the best way but unfortunately only offered to kick start the movement to homeowner PV. With HECO closing its fossil fueled production facility and sub contracting out to solar farms their argument of PV saturation doesn't make sense or is untrue.

It's different when PV is configured solely as a generation "farm" compared to a home or business that also consumes the energy.

For homes, sometimes they use only what they gather from the sun.  In that case, excess can be sold back to HECO if they need it  But, if the home is consuming more energy than the panels are producing, they increase demand on HECO.

Farms have no demand on the grid, it only produces. 

Bottom line:  HECO doesn't need to have a 2-way path to the farms -- only to homes and businesses they buy excess electricity from.  Feeding the grid from a solar farm reduces the grid requirements.  No need to manage electricity going in and out of the farm -- only out.

HECO's infrastructure is severely antiquated.  They need to pay for major upgrades before they have the technical means to accommodate more and more solar customers.  It took a few years for them to do upgrades between NM ending and the new programs beginning.

Did you know HECO has a generator still producing electricity for Oahu that was installed by Thomas Edison?  It might have been replaced in the last few years, but it was a fact when I heard it about 5 years ago.   

When there'sonly 1 company, they can do as they please. My friend in TX makes money every month selling his electricity from his pv.

Too bad others cannot enter the market.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Problem is gonna be the batteries.
Both creation and disposal.
Same with panels I guess.

Did you know HECO has a generator still producing electricity for Oahu that was installed by Thomas Edison?  It might have been replaced in the last few years, but it was a fact when I heard it about 5 years ago.   

This does not surprise me in the least. Like clockwork, the power goes out in my home every two weeks or so. I asked an official to determine the cause.

It appears that the intermittent outages that residents in your area experienced on or about TBD were caused by problems with a sub-transmission line that tripped several times on TBD.

Hawaii is a beautiful state, but mold and the power grid are two perpetual problems linked to each other. When power to air cleaners goes out, my son with allergies can tell soon thereafter. Now, imagine what it is like to have to purchase uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) for every room in the house? Worse than you can imagine. Voltage variations are so bad in this state that some UPS's will actually shut down, and require manual restarting.

As for PV systems, I am waiting for solar roof tiles to mature enough that their lifespan will be at least 20 years. This way, you get to kill two birds with one stone- PV plus a new roof at the same time. I do not own a PV system at this time, but my electric bills are under $200/month on a 3000+ square ft home. The most revolutionary change for the average homeowner has been LED light bulbs, and LCD displays (that replaced CRTs).

Parallel systems. Use pv for small stuff like 12v interior lights, charging power tools, backup micro fridge, and running the basics you can’t live without, and grid tie for larger appliances. Having a PV system to run a 220v clothes dryer is a waste of resources. If the power goes down hang a clothesline.

I have solar. It was on the house I bought in Prescott Valley, AZ. We have a similar number of sunny days as Hawaii does, Big difference is electricity is much more expensive there per KWH.

For Hawaii I believe that solar is worth the investment if you intend to stay in your home for 20 years.

My neighbors have a similar size homes and the exact same AC pump. During the summer their electric bills run between $100 to $125 a month. My electric bill is the $15 minimum connection fee plus my $50 payment to Tesla. So my bill runs $65 during the summer running my AC 24/7. I save between $35 and $60 a month over my neighbors. I get a check every year for any amount of electricity I sell back to the grid over what I use. My first year I got a check. My second year I did not due to having a huge monsoon season. As the days get colder and shorter and the sun moves to different positions across the sky, my panels do not produce as much power. During the winter months I run my heat pump and I pay around $40 a month plus my Tesla $50 and I pay up to $90 a month. My neighbors are paying about the same as during the summer. So i am saving $10 to $35 a month over my neighbors.

Is solar worth it? If I had received the original kickbacks from the governments for installing solar I may feel differently. But for me I am not sure solar is really worth it here in AZ. Our electricity is cheap. Plentiful. Produced by coal and oil. In 2 years I have only had a couple of brown out events and a very short black out event. If I had installed the PV system originally I would have made the system larger and added batteries to run my household for a short while. But I really don’t think I would have ever installed solar in the first place. Yes it saves me money. I can’t complain. But without the kickbacks I am not sure having the solar panels installed into my roof is worth it. I have had to pay out $300 to have skirts installed around the panels to keep out birds that nest under them. I will have some personal roof expenses after Tesla comes out and removes the panels in 14-15 years. Also, as the panels age they produce less power. So as they get older my electric bills are going to go up. I don’t know by how much. My answer is I probably would not have installed them originally. But as of right now I do enjoy the cost benefits,

I am also considering installing a backup generator powered by NG.

I have solar. It was on the house I bought in Prescott Valley, AZ. We have a similar number of sunny days as Hawaii does, Big difference is electricity is much more expensive there per KWH.

For Hawaii I believe that solar is worth the investment if you intend to stay in your home for 20 years.

My neighbors have a similar size homes and the exact same AC pump. During the summer their electric bills run between $100 to $125 a month. My electric bill is the $15 minimum connection fee plus my $50 payment to Tesla. So my bill runs $65 during the summer running my AC 24/7. I save between $35 and $60 a month over my neighbors. I get a check every year for any amount of electricity I sell back to the grid over what I use. My first year I got a check. My second year I did not due to having a huge monsoon season. As the days get colder and shorter and the sun moves to different positions across the sky, my panels do not produce as much power. During the winter months I run my heat pump and I pay around $40 a month plus my Tesla $50 and I pay up to $90 a month. My neighbors are paying about the same as during the summer. So i am saving $10 to $35 a month over my neighbors.

Is solar worth it? If I had received the original kickbacks from the governments for installing solar I may feel differently. But for me I am not sure solar is really worth it here in AZ. Our electricity is cheap. Plentiful. Produced by coal and oil. In 2 years I have only had a couple of brown out events and a very short black out event. If I had installed the PV system originally I would have made the system larger and added batteries to run my household for a short while. But I really don’t think I would have ever installed solar in the first place. Yes it saves me money. I can’t complain. But without the kickbacks I am not sure having the solar panels installed into my roof is worth it. I have had to pay out $300 to have skirts installed around the panels to keep out birds that nest under them. I will have some personal roof expenses after Tesla comes out and removes the panels in 14-15 years. Also, as the panels age they produce less power. So as they get older my electric bills are going to go up. I don’t know by how much. My answer is I probably would not have installed them originally. But as of right now I do enjoy the cost benefits,

I am also considering installing a backup generator powered by NG.

I have 10.6 kW worth of panels in my shop and I've been threatening to put them up for some years now,
life happens and I haven't done it yet.
I would never "Grid-tie" mine is designed as a "Battery back-up generator"
qualifies for the Federal subsidy.
Manual switched. 24/7 power.
By my calculations payback period is about 8 years in Hawaii.
Freedom from the government or government regulated utility
is more than enough reason to
cut the cord.
I'll retain the physical connection to the "Grid".
But that is only for real estate women who will do the Comps
on my property.  "Off Grid" isn't worth as much.
I've never met a reals estate agent that understands
the value of independence.
No insults intended.
 

Solar water heater is always worth it in this climate btw. All you need is enough electricity to run the pumps.

Solar water heater is always worth it in this climate btw. All you need is enough electricity to run the pumps.

That's a fact.  When trying to save money on HECO bills, replacing an electric water heater is always the first upgrade to solar.  Depending on usage, hot water is the biggest energy demand in most homes.