Counties issue fewer solar permits

The number of permitted solar systems on the neighbor islands continues to slide.

Maui County saw a drop of 77 percent in rooftop photovoltaic permits issued in January, with 54 PV permits compared with 233 issued in the same month last year. Hawaii County issued 45 PV permits in January, compared with 141 issued during the same period in 2016 — a 68 percent reduction.

The permit data are compiled by Marco Mangelsdorf, who tracks rooftop solar permits and is president of Hilo-­based ProVision Solar.

Earlier this month Mangelsdorf reported the number of solar energy system permits issued on Oahu in January was cut in half from the same period last year.

In January the City and County of Honolulu issued 194 photovoltaic permits. That was a 52 percent decline from the 407 solar permits issued in January 2016.

The number of issued permits has been dropping since the state ended a popular solar energy incentive program called net energy metering in 2015. NEM participants are credited the full retail rate for the excess energy their solar system sends into the grid.