To combat climate change and move away from fossil fuels toward energy independence, several years ago the federal government rolled out a 30 percent tax credit for solar installations.

The state of Hawaii followed suit with an additional 35 percent tax credit. Investors also have enjoyed several years of bonus depreciation — for qualified capital expenses — designed to heal the Great Recession. As a result, the solar industry in Hawaii accelerated as fast as a new fully electric Tesla. That would be 0 to 60 in 5.4 seconds.

Unfortunately, that Tesla just hit a brick wall. Despite mass adoption of both residential and commercial solar systems, there is an increasing pattern of lengthly delays on the part of Hawaiian Electric Co. to provide the required "notice to proceed," according to Mark Duda a principal of RevoluSun. I have received similar reports from several other leaders in the solar industry.

The situation has become a source of frustration for customers who followed all of HECO’s rules and now simply want to interconnect systems they have purchased. It presents even more of a challenge for solar contractors who are now suffering the cash-flow effects of unplanned business interruptions hitting at the busiest time of the year.

"There is now a near total work stoppage happening at a time that inflicts maximum damage on our industry," said Brad Albert, founder of Rising Sun Solar, which installs PV systems statewide, "It’s the equivalent of forcing Toys R Us not to operate between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then adding insult to injury by telling them not to worry because everything will be OK by Easter."

Last month HECO spokesman Peter Rosegg said rule changes will enable more small solar systems to be added to the grids without requiring as many interconnection studies. I recently completed the installation of a solar system on Maui and can vouch for the fact that the need for an interconnection study creates uncertainty, time delays and substantial additional expense to the project. Oddly enough, the study cost exceeded by far the cost of the action required based on the study results.

HECO has said it will now conduct a limited number of studies on selected circuits and then apply those results to projects on other circuits. The problem, say industry leaders, is that HECO won’t commit to any timeline for completion of these studies, leaving the solar industry and consumers in limbo at a critical time.

Before Sept. 6, the protocol was to install your system and then obtain HECO’s approval. The new rules require customers to obtain pre-approval. A major source of frustration is that the new rules apply retroactively to applications submitted before Sept. 6. People with completed systems have now received letters from HECO saying not to do the installation. Duda said most of those who submitted new applications after Sept. 6 have not yet received a notice to proceed even if they live in a low-saturation area where no study is required.

Kevin Yamada, project manager at Solar Wave, agrees. "I am worried about how this is going to play out," he said.

What does this current crisis in the solar industry have to do with health? As the use of fossil fuels is replaced by solar energy, the tab for U.S. health care could drop. As much as $886.5 billion, or 6 percent of gross domestic product, is now spent managing the hidden health impacts of burning petroleum products, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This is documented in a peer-reviewed study, "Economic Value of U.S. Fossil Fuel Electricity Health Impacts." Furthermore, Scientific American reports that burning fossil fuels causes air pollution from particulate matter that results annually in:

» 30,100 premature deaths

» 1.3 million cases of respiratory illness

» 5.13 million workdays lost

» 26.3 million kids stay inside to avoid pollution

HECO’s recent policy changes make it more difficult for Hawaii residents to take advantage of abundant, clean solar energy, which maintains our dependence on fossil fuels, according to solar industry leaders.

If you think of our ecosystem as a physical body, burning fossil fuel is like drinking too much coffee. Caffeine activates your body’s energy reserves, which are meant to be there in an emergency. If you live on caffeine, however, you eventually will deplete your adrenal reserves, accumulate acidic wastes and exhaust your entire system. In the same way, if we continue to draw on our emergency reserves in the form of fossil fuel, the planet and all the life it sustains will end up depleted, polluted and exhausted. Any obstruction to the expansion of sustainable energy keeps us artificially hooked up to a caffeine drip that’s not sustainable. This has real and immediate consequences for our health, our environment and our economy.

Teslas are way cool but there is so much more at stake.