Editorial: Backlog on solar permits

Not everything is under the immediate control of government agencies that process permits, including one category that has been backlogged: permits for residences with photovoltaic (PV) solar installations. There are applicant errors or missing information, as well as the administrative delays that slip into any bureaucracy.

These disconnects need to be remedied, if Hawaii is to take advantage of community solar projects and other advances, staying on track for its clean-energy policy goals.

The challenge is well-known to the city Department of Planning and Permitting, which grapples with the broad permitting-delay problem on multiple fronts. Two years ago it engaged in an effort to streamline the solar-power process specifically.

The Honolulu City Council passed a bill enacted as Ordinance 20-44 to allow for an online “self-certification and automatic approval” of solar PV systems for multifamily and commercial projects, said Dean Uchida, DPP director.

However, some applications do get flagged, in many cases due to errors or missing information.

But then the floodgates opened. At a Council meeting, Uchida said the demand for permits shot up, due in part to the state Public Utilities Commission decision to enable a “battery bonus program.” Enrollees in this Hawaiian Electric Co. program could be paid if they add their own solar energy battery storage to the grid.

There is also the state law ordering the shutdown of the coal-fired electric plant owned by AES Corp. The looming Sept. 1 deadline to close the Kapolei coal-burning operation drove Hawaiian Electric to boost large-scale solar projects, which, Uchida said, adds to the backlog.

Communication with DPP on these projects was lacking, he added.

In any case, the growing demand for solar permits should have been anticipated and is not going to subside for the foreseeable future.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi has made smoothing the city’s business processes a high priority for his administration. So now, plans are needed to boost the DPP workforce — short-term civil-service hires, or external contracts, to start.

And Councilman Brandon Elefante had a good idea: An informational briefing could guide the applicants, minimizing any potential delays. Better communication — between applicants and government, as well — is indeed part of the solution.