Utilities and solar energy on rooftops have had a difficult relationship from the start. Since the time of Thomas Edison, utility companies have been obtaining electricity from large production stations and distributing it to customers through a system of substations, poles and wires. The current was only supposed to flow in one direction. There is another wrinkle to consider.
Early on, people realized that it was wasteful and inefficient to have multiple utilities competing with each other, each with its own poles, wires and substations. And while this is undoubtedly true, it has become a way of thinking among people in the utility business, declaring them masters of their electron world without permissible outside interference.
No wonder, then, that when people started installing rooftop solar systems in their homes and started putting electricity back into the grid at any time they wanted – and they expected to be paid a retail price for it! – managers in all these utility companies were in decline. They warned that rooftop solar energy would destabilize the grid, increase costs for those without solar systems and threaten the American way of life.
Do you think this is an exaggeration? How else to explain the vicious conspiracy of the utility industry a few years ago to adopt an amendment to the Florida Constitution that would stop the spread of solar energy on rooftops in the state of Sunshine. They tried again at the session of the state legislation in 2022, but even the governor of Florida could not swallow that plan and vetoed the proposed law.
Islands and solar energy
In the big scheme of things, the islands have the hardest time trying to switch from traditional thermal energy to clean renewable energy. They rely heavily on coal, methane or oil to keep their generators running. Hawaii is no different. In fact, much of its electricity comes from burning diesel oil refined from oil. In fact, a third of its oil imports came from Russia until Pooty Poot decided to go completely bankrupt in Ukraine.
That fact, more than any other, has prompted Hawai’ian Electric Company (HECO) to reconsider its longstanding opposition to solar solar energy on the roof. Ten years ago, its CEO, Shelee Kimura, put pressure on state lawmakers to reduce incentives for rooftop solar energy, a tactic used by the utility industry across the country. According to New York Timesshe argued that rooftop solar energy is not as efficient as large solar and wind farms.
That is technically correct. A kilowatt of electricity from 20 solar panels on the roof costs much more than a kilowatt of electricity from a solar farm with 10,000 panels. The other side of the coin, however, is that electricity from the roof installation can be used where it was created and does not have to send over tens or hundreds of miles of wires where it is needed. There are two sides to every coin, and the utility industry has traditionally been interested in only one of them.
But recent events have led Kimura and HECO to change the tune. “In Hawaii, we realized that rooftop solar energy will be an important part of our network, that it must be part of our network,” she told New York Times. “Some people think we’re crazy. Some people think we’re pretty amazing. “
The state now offers homeowners in Oahu – where 70% of its population lives – incentives to install home batteries with their own rooftop solar systems. Utilities can use these batteries to power between 6 and 8:30 p.m., when energy demand usually peaks, giving them some control over when electricity from rooftop solar systems is returned to the grid. Without storing batteries, they have no such control. “It’s a good example of a good policy turnaround with utilities and regulators saying,‘ We need to change the way we approach this, ’” said Bryan White, a senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie.
In the past, Hawaii received 80% of its electricity from oil. That has now fallen to 66%, but it is still too high to meet the state’s carbon reduction targets. “Oil dependence is the wrong way to go,” said James Griffin, chairman of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. New York Times. He dedicated himself to reducing tensions between utilities and the solar roofing industry.
That industry “fought tooth and nail with HECO to get to where we are today,” said Scott Glenn, chief civil servant for energy. “Not only are their decisions changing, but their attitudes are changing.” Many in Hawaii favor large-scale solar or wind energy developments, but the state has several large areas of land available for such projects, which are often burdened by huge barriers to licensing and opposition from community groups.
Rooftop solar may not be a desirable choice, but it can be installed quickly and avoid many of these NIMBY battles. Sometimes it is better to do what is possible than to wait for the ideal solution to come to fruition.
Solar energy on the roof of the BYU-Hawaii campus
Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions and Brigham Young University – Hawaii have announced a full-campus solar system that includes three rooftop solar installations and five solar carports throughout the campus. It also has 7.3 MWh of storage battery provided by Tesla Megapacks. The annual electricity production under the project is expected to meet 39% of the university’s total energy each year.
“This project has made BYU-Hawaii more environmentally friendly and reduced our impact on the environment,” said Kevin Schlag, operational vice president. “The combination of solar and battery storage is a smart solution that will allow us to support our students and their education in a more sustainable way, potentially saving the university over $ 20 million in utility costs over the life of the system.”
The university funded the project through a 20-year power purchase agreement with Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions.
A 42 MW solar power plant in Pearl Harbor
Finally, here is the news about solar energy from the state of Aloha. Ameresco and Bright Canyon Energy are moving forward with the Kupono Solar Project, a combined solar and battery system to be built at the Pearl Harbor-Hickam West Loch Annex joint base in Hawaii. When completed in early 2024, it will supply 42 MW of renewable energy to the Hawai’ian Electric network on the island of Oahu. The solar park will use 131 hectares of underutilized land within the military base. The installation will also have a 42 MW / 168 MWh lithium-ion battery storage system.
“The Navy is excited to see this joint Kupono Solar / Hawaiian Electric project progress for the benefit of our community,” Cpt said. Randall E. Harmeyer, Public Works Officer at the Pearl Harbor-Hickam Joint Base. “This allows us to put 131 hectares of underutilized land for long-term, sustainable use for Hawaii at a time when the cost and security of energy supply around the world is of great concern and reflects the Navy’s core commitment to America’s energy security and resilience.” Kupono Solar will own and operate this solar energy and battery project under a 20-year electricity purchase agreement with HECO.
The Takeaway
The lessons learned in Hawaii are fully applicable to every other island community in the world. Come to think of it, we all live on islands. Only some are bigger than others and are called continents. Burning fossil fuels to produce electricity was a great idea in the 19th century. Like burning trees to make money. But the world cannot afford to continue to do so as it rushes towards a climate crisis of epic proportions.
It’s nice to look back and sing hymns about the past – “God, our old LaSalle ran great!” It’s quite another to polish brass on the Titanic as it sinks under the waves. In the competition between physics and politics, science always has the last word. Fossil fuels are a thing of the past. Solar energy and other renewable energy sources are the future. Let the sun in!
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