1. Information: Peter Rosegg
808-543-7780 peter.rosegg@hawaiianelectric.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rooftop PV enjoys another strong year in Hawai‘i
HONOLULU, Jan. 22, 2014 – Solar photovoltaic installations in Hawai‘i continued
growing at a strong pace in 2013. A total of 17,609 solar installations with more than 129
megawatts capacity were added to the Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric and Hawai‘i
Electric Light Company grids in 2013. This is 39 percent more than was added in 2012.
The total of solar photovoltaic systems interconnected on the Hawaiian Electric
Companies’ grids as of Dec. 31, 2013 is 40,159 with a total capacity of 300 MW. Of
those installations, 96 percent take advantage of net energy metering, a program that
began in 2001 to encourage the adoption of rooftop solar. With net energy metering,
customers with rooftop solar receive full retail credit for electricity they generate and
send to the utility grid. They use that credit to offset the electricity they take from the grid
when solar power does not meet their needs at night or on cloudy days.
More than 70 percent of rooftop systems are on O‘ahu. With 29,558 PV systems and
221 MW as of Dec. 31, 2013, 10 percent of Hawaiian Electric customers now have
rooftop solar, a higher percentage than any mainland utility. On Hawai’i Island, 7 percent
of Hawai‘i Electric Light customers have rooftop solar. And 8 percent of Maui Electric
customers have rooftop solar.
This unprecedented rapid growth in rooftop solar in Hawai‘i has resulted in some
neighborhood circuits reaching extremely high levels of photovoltaic systems. An
increasing number of distribution level circuits have rooftop PV capacity exceeding 100
percent of the daytime minimum load, the trigger for interconnection studies and
possible implementation of safety measures or upgrades before new PV systems on that
circuit can be interconnected to the grid. This condition slowed the pace of rooftop solar
growth in the last quarter of last year.
“Our first priority is the safety and reliability of service to all our customers,” said Jim
Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president for customer service. “At the same time,
we remain committed to a strong, sustainable solar industry in Hawai‘i. We continue to
approve new solar systems for interconnection daily. And we are working to find ways to
add more solar power, including on circuits that already have large amounts of PV
installed.”
…more

2. Rooftop PV enjoys
strong 2013 in Hawai‘i
January 22, 2014
Page 2
Solar installations and capacity by utility as of December 31, 2013
Hawaiian Electric
Maui Electric
Hawai‘i Electric Light
TOTAL
Solar installations Capacity in MW
29,558
221
5,246
41
5,355
38
40,159
300
Cumulative solar growth in Hawaiian Electric Companies service territories, 20052013 (Data subject to change)
350
Cumulative Installed PV (Hawaiian Electric
Companies), MW
301
300
250
200
171
150
100
79
50
0
1.8
2.4
4.7
12
24
40
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
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