Oahu PV permits declined again in March

The number of permits for photovoltaic projects issued on Oahu fell in March for the 12th consecutive month when compared with the same month a year earlier.

The 622 permits issued by the Department of Planning and Permitting was down 39 percent from the 1,013 permits issued in March 2013, according to an analysis of department data done by Marco Mangelsdorf, president of Hilo-based Pro­Vision Solar.

Through the first three months of 2014, the department issued 1,889 permits for PV systems, compared with 3,007 permits during the first three months of 2013, according to Mangelsdorf.

Vivint Solar Inc. led all installers during the first quarter with 353 systems, with a permitted value of $12 million, according to the data. Solar City was second with 290 systems valued at $5.9 million, followed by Alternate Energy Inc. with 183 systems valued at $4.5 million.

First Wind seeks to sell HECO electricity

Hawaiian Electric Co. has filed a request with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to buy electricity from a planned 20-megawatt solar energy project being developed by First Wind LLC near Mililani in central Oahu.

First Wind, which is developing the project through its First Wind Solar Group subsidiary, said it is seeking to sell the power to HECO for 15.6 cents a kilowatt-hour under a 20-year power purchase agreement, a rate comparable to what the utility is negotiating with other developers of planned utility-scale photovoltaic projects on Oahu.

First Wind estimates the project will meet the power needs of 6,000 homes, and save ratepayers as much as $67 million over the life of the agreement when compared with the cost of generating electricity by burning oil.

Hawaiian Electric is negotiating agreements with nine developers of utility-scale PV projects to install 240 megawatts of solar generating capacity on Oahu.

Solar projects in public schools advance

A Hawaii-based company is finalizing the design for rooftop solar photovoltaic projects at 33 public schools on Oahu and Kauai.

The systems being designed by Enersol Hawaii consist of approximately 17,000 photovoltaic panels for a total system size of nearly 4 megawatts. Once complete, the system will produce roughly 6 megawatt hours of electricity annually, equating to 31,000 tons of carbon emissions, according to a news release from Enersol.

Enersol was awarded the design and engineering portion of these projects early last year and has been working with local utilities, city and county offices, as well as the investment group and contractors to finalize all projects and allow for construction to begin. Work is scheduled to be complete on all sites by the end of this year.

Island Air offers tax day bonus to fliers

Island Air is offering a tax day bonus promotion, giving double miles to Cloud 9 Rewards members for tickets booked Tuesday through Thursday.

Tickets purchased during the promotion will be good for travel from Wednesday through June 12.

Travelers not currently members of Cloud 9 can join the free program prior to purchasing their flights.

Citigroup net up 4% despite regulatory woes

Dogged by its failure to pass the Federal Reserve’s latest stress test and investigations of fraud at its Mexican unit, Citigroup reported some good news Monday: first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ expectations.

Citigroup said adjusted quarterly profit rose about 4 percent, to $4.1 billion, or earnings per share of $1.30, from the period a year earlier. Financial analysts polled by Bloomberg News had been expecting earnings per share of about $1.13. The profit numbers are adjusted for one-time events, such as adjustments to its debt values and tax charges.

Despite exceeding profit expectations, adjusted revenue fell 2 percent, $20.1 billion, from the year-earlier period, but topped estimates of $19.4 billion for the quarter. Excluding one-time items, Citigroup’s profit rose 3.54 percent, to $3.9 billion, or $1.23 a share, on revenue of $20.12 billion.

Even as the bank’s global business results brightened in the quarter, Citigroup said Monday that it had found an additional case of fraud in its Mexican unit. Citigroup said it had uncovered a second instance of issues in its accounts receivable program involving a supplier to the Mexican oil monopoly Pemex.

ON THE MOVE

Clay Chapman Iwamura Pulice & Nervell has hired two associate attorneys: 

» Ann E. McIntire concentrates her practice on collections, civil litigation, banking, real estate and business/ commer­cial transactions.

» Allison G. Yee concentrates her practice on civil litigation, collections, real estate, banking and business/commercial transactions.

Summa International has announced its project team: 

» Kim Castro, director of projects, was a senior project manager at Higgins Purchasing Group in Walnut, Calif.

» Lyndsay Yee, director for purchasing, was project management coordinator for Mokulua High Performance Builders and manager of Pacific Home.

» Zoa Zack Dubarry, senior project manager, has nearly 10 years of experience, including design positions at Inform Design, Philpotts Interiors, BKDI and Belbin & Associates in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.