HI Solar News

Marine Corps Base Hawaii dedicated Wednesday a 470-kilowatt photovoltaic system that will supply the energy needs of a new 150-room bachelor enlisted quarters. Read More: MCBH dedicates solar system for new bachelor quarters

Europe’s solar market is in good shape despite the global financial crisis, a new study by Lux Research shows. Small European markets will show favorable returns in the near term, the study predicts, while Asian markets will rise over the next few years. Portugal’s market is currently the hottest — for solar investors able to [...]

One homeowner living in Manoa on the island of Oahu is a prime example of the benefits of solar power. Kenneth Chang is the first homeowner in the state of Hawaii to take advantage of the feed-in tariff program. In 2009 the Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO), which is the state’s largest utility, put the Hawaii [...]

Sopogy, Chinese investor sign solar pact • Air Australia offers special Honolulu fares • Hawaii philanthropists to be honored • Made in Hawaii Festival exhibitors sought • On the Move Read More: Business Briefs

Most people may not know that Hawaii is emerging as a great leader in solar power. In fact, in 2010, Hawaii ranked 9th in the U.S. with approximately 18.5 megawatts of installed solar power. In fact, Hawaii is currently 2nd in installed solar power per capita, ahead of California! And according to the most recent [...]

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved a contract between SunPower Corp and Hawaiian Electric Company for the output of a 5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) farm planned for Kalaeloa in West Oahu, Hawaii. SunPower will design, build and operate the solar PV farm and subject to receipt of applicable permits, SunPower plans to begin [...]

A San Jose, Calif.-based company is preparing to build a large solar panel farm in West Oahu. “This approval is the first contract for a utility scale five-megawatt solar farm,” said Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman Peter Rosegg. It is the largest project of its kind in the state, according to HECO officials. SunPower Corp. officials [...]

Forest City Hawaii and Hawaiian Electric Company have reached a power purchase agreement for up to one megawatt of solar photovoltaic power to be generated at the Kapolei Sustainable Energy Park in Kapolei, Oahu. Hoku Solar will design and install the project using more than 4,200 solar panels atop a concrete racking system. The contract [...]

The New York Times recently published its top 10 solar states in the United States for 2010, ranking states based on installed solar power capacity. Most people will not be surprised to see a number of western states on the list but they might be surprised to see so many eastern states making noise on [...]

The U.S. Navy has ambitiously committed to meeting half of its energy needs with renewable energy technologies by 2020. The Navy recently announced plans to develop distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for naval facilities in Hawaii. The projects are expected to be issued within the next 12 months and completed by August 2016. The $500 million contract will fund [...]

The State of Hawaii was awarded more than $7 million in federal grants for renewable energy projects that include increasing solar energy and electric vehicles in Hawaii, Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced at Tuesday’s opening of the 2011 Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo. The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced the following grants: $6.1 [...]

Many of the problems that forced solar company Solyndra to shutter operations threaten other businesses in the sun-power industry, with more upheaval likely in the coming months, analysts say. The bankruptcy last month of Fremont, Calif.-based Solyndra comes as solar manufacturing undergoes a major transition. Prices of solar panels have plummeted, causing a supply glut [...]

Hawaii regulators are starting a process that may lead to the creation of a system where residents could finance expensive up-front costs of solar power installations through their electric bills. The Public Utilities Commission opened a docket for the program, called on-bill financing, this week. Blue Planet Foundation Executive Director Jeff Mikulina says on-bill financing [...]

WAILUKU – Maui County awarded contracts this month to install at least 1,000 solar panels on the rooftops of county facilities on Maui and Lanai. The winning contractors are Haleakala Solar of Kahului (installer), Gen-X Energy Development of Haiku and NexGen Energy Partners of Boulder, Colo., (developers) and Bosch Solar Energy Corp. of San Mateo, [...]

MAUI—Maui County officials announced this week that it is ready to install the largest solar panel project in the county’s history. The Maui County Solar Rooftop project will install solar photovoltaic panels on five fire stations, four water supply facilities, four wastewater facilities, two police stations, two senior centers, at four park facilities and at [...]

There’s a paradox in the global solar industry: When manufacturers are suffering, things are looking up for consumers. Lux Research last week released its latest industry analysis which projects fast growth in the amount of solar power installed, at 15.5 percent per year, but flat revenue until 2016. Reflecting the same dynamic of falling product [...]

A former industrial disposal site in Kapolei, Oahu, is to be brought back into useful service with a plan to build a 1-megawatt solar power plant on it. Property developer Forest City Hawaii and power company Hawaiian Electric Company have reached a power purchase agreement to set up the project at the Kapolei Sustainable Energy [...]

US PV installations will spike 166% in 2011 to 2.4GW, doubling the 80% growth seen in 2010, with California leading the way, according to new reports from IHS iSuppli. The number of PV installations will climb 25% this year to 49,000, according to the firm. Ground-mount installs make up a little more than half of [...]

Via Honolulu Star-Advertiser The West Hawaii Civic Center in Kailua-Kona on Tuesday turned on a 250-kilowatt solar power system that is projected to save the facility $500,000 in electricity costs during the next 20 years. REC Solar and SunRun partnered to design and install the $1.8 million photovoltaic system that will generate an estimated 400,000 [...]

By Doug Peeples Smart Grid News Editor As Hawaii’s solar installations approach mandated limits in several areas, more and more home and business owners are backing away from plans for solar projects because they could be required to pay for an expensive study to determine if the increased solar load would affect grid stability. The [...]

SolarCity’s $280m partnership with Google, along with its innovative Solar Lease financing program, have already made great strides in taking solar into the mainstream. Now the company is partnering up with another influential player—the US Air Force—to install solar to power 2000 homes in Hawaii. While some hardcore greenies may be surprised that the US [...]

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – A solar farm on 20 acres of Kauai property that will be nearly three times bigger than the state’s largest solar facility has been approved by the county’s planning commission, the Garden Island reported Thursday. Groundbreaking on the former sugar cane land is expected to happen by the end of the [...]

A second major solar energy company is now revving up its operations to harness the sun’s power in the Aloha State, where homeowners and businesses pay some of the highest electricity bills in the country. San Mateo, Calif.-firm SolarCity has opened a 19,500 sq.-ft. warehouse in Mililani, O‘ahu, and hired 35 local residents; it expects [...]

US-based Kona Brewing Company has announced that the brewery is using a new, 228 kw photovoltaic system- a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity at its headquarters in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The company has set up 990 solar panels on its warehouse roof which can produce about 60% of [...]

State officials are directing more federal funds toward a rebate program for homeowners who purchase solar water heaters. Hawaii’s energy office announced Friday additional money from U.S. Recovery Act would be allocated to rebates due to a large demand for the energy-efficient systems. Hawaii Energy, which administers the program, first announced the rebate in March [...]

A program that temporarily doubled the rebate for solar water heating systems to $1,500 for Hawaiian Electric Co. customers has ended after overwhelming demand from homeowners depleted its funding in less than a month. Homeowners will continue to be able to claim the standard rebate of $750 as long as they finance the system through [...]

Chevron Corp. has built the state’s largest “solar canopy,” a 414-kilowatt photovoltaic system positioned over 177 parking spaces at Oceanic Time Warner’s headquarters in Mililani. The canopy will provide shade for the cars of customers and employees at the Oceanic complex and generate — along with a rooftop photovoltaic system — 20 percent of the facility’s [...]

For many start up companies, venture capital financing remains one the signature corporate events in the history of the company.  Not only does venture financing provide the company capital to advance their product but it is also somewhat of a stamp of approval that your company is worthy of venture capital attention. Venture capital also [...]

A cash rebate for Hawaiian Electric Co. customers who install solar water heaters will double to $1,500 for a limited time in an effort to lift sagging sales of the energy-efficient units. The rebate, which had been $750, will be available for systems purchased between Monday and May 31, or until program funds run out, [...]

The Oahu Wind Integration Study (OWIS) recently released a study detailing the impact on the Oahu grid if a total of 500 MW of wind energy and a nominal 100 MW of solar power came online as is expected. The study found that the 500 MW of wind and 100 MW of solar power could [...]