Committee tables bill on allowing community power plant

A bill that would allow condominium owners and others to power their homes with electricity generated by a community-based renewable energy facility was shelved by a House committee Thursday after lawmakers said the concept needs further study.

The Community-Based Renewable Energy Program, as described in the bill, would allow utility customers in condos to buy a stake in an off-site solar or wind facility and have the power transmitted to them over the utility’s power lines.

"While the amount of residential solar energy use statewide doubled in 2012, many individuals and households are currently unable to directly participate in renewable energy because of their location, building type, access to the utility grid, and other impediments," according to the bill heard by the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection.

The measure (HB 1363) would also allow participants to receive credit for any excess power they produce, similar to what owners of residential PV systems do under Hawaiian Electric’s Net Energy Metering program. The electric utility would serve as an accountant, determining the amount of the renewable energy credited to participating customers’ accounts.

Committee Chairman Chris Lee (D, Kailua-Wai­ma­nalo) deferred the bill Thursday for further study.

One of the strongest local advocates of community-based renewable energy is the Blue Planet Foundation, which said the "innovative solution" is already being put in place in a variety of places on the mainland, including California, Colo­rado, Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland and Maine.

"There is no reason Hawaii shouldn’t enable its residents to do the same thing," Blue Planet Program Director Richard Wallsgrove said in prepared testimony. "For wealthy homeowners with large roofs, solar energy is a no-brainer. But for most residents, solar power is simply out of reach. The policy proposed in HB 1363 brings some social equality to our clean energy policy. Everyone should be able to participate in Hawaii’s clean energy future," he said.

Rep. Denny Coffman, (D, Holualoa-Kailua-Kona-Hono­ko­hau), said he was concerned the proposal would further erode HECO’s rate base and reduce the amount of revenue the electric utility is able to collect to cover its fixed costs, such as power generation and distribution. Hawaiian Electric Co. and its subsidiaries estimated the surge in PV installations means they won’t be able to collect $12.1 million in 2013 that would have otherwise gone to pay for their fixed costs.

"Who pays for the transportation and distribution costs if everyone joins this program?" Coffman asked. Part of the problem is that under the program to buy solar power from homeowners, Hawaiian Electric essentially overpays for the electricity because it is required to credit participants at the full retail rate for any electricity they send into the grid, Coffman said. A credit at the wholesale rate would make more sense, he added.

The Public Utilities Commission supports the concept of the bill but recommended it be put on hold while the commission conducts a review of the program to buy power from individuals and other "energy procurement" methods used by the state’s electric utilities, PUC Chairwoman Hermina Morita said in written testimony. The responsibility of creating a new program would fall to the PUC.

Morita also testified that the PUC is stretched thin in the current environment, and staff would have to be reallocated from "other priorities" to oversee the creation of such a program.