Big Isle solar permits issued fell 45% in November

The number of photovoltaic permits issued in Hawaii County plunged 45 percent in November but is still up for the year.

Last month Hawaii County issued electrical permits for 56 solar electric systems compared with 102 in November 2017, according to Marco Mangelsdorf, who tracks rooftop solar permits and is president of Hilo-based ProVision Solar.

Over the first 11 months of this year, 926 PV permits were issued compared with 830 in the year-­earlier period, a year-over-year increase of 12 percent.

Of the 56 permitted systems in November, 38 included energy storage, including LG Chem (South Korea), Tesla (U.S.) and Pika (U.S.) batteries.

The top four permit pullers in 2018 on the island are Sunrun, ProVision Solar, Renewable Energy Services, Honokaa and Kona-based Regis Electric, respectively.

Mangelsdorf said there are about 12,000 grid-connected photovoltaic systems installed or in the pipeline on Hawaii island out of a total Hawaii Electric Light Co. customer base of about 84,000.

“(Parent company) Hawaiian Electric has noted that rapidly evolving technologies in storage, voltage management tools and advanced inverters will help to more than triple the amount of private rooftop solar power in Hawaii,” Mangelsdorf said. “It has taken 17 years, sparked by net energy metering going into effect in 2001, to get to 12,000 with the bulk of those coming online in the past five years. Reaching 36,000 on the island will require going where few no electric utilities have gone before and demand innovation and risk-taking as we collectively cross the proverbial river by feeling the stones.”