Dive Brief:
- Hawaiian Electric is replacing most of its rooftop solar programs with its Smart Renewable Energy program, also known as Smart DER, which sets payment rates for homeowners with solar panels who return electricity to the grid. Participants in Hawaiian Electric’s Customer Self Supply or Standard Interconnection Agreement programs are not required to switch to Smart Renewable Energy, but they will only get paid for electricity they send back to the grid if they switch.
- Customers who install energy storage batteries will see smaller payments under the changes. Hawaiian Electric is replacing a Battery Bonus program, which paid customers with storage batteries an upfront credit of $850 per committed KW, with a Bring Your Own Device program that pays an upfront credit of $100 per committed KW.
- Hawaii requires that all of its electricity come from renewable sources by 2045, and is working with energy companies to increase the use of clean energy through sources like rooftop solar.
Dive Insight:
Beginning April 1, Hawaiian Electric customers who use rooftop solar panels have been able to enroll in the Smart Renewable Energy program, which replaces most other programs for customers who have installed rooftop solar panels, the company said in an April 1 news release.
The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission approved the changes, the news release said.
The goal of the changes is to improve grid resilience and help Hawaiians use more renewable energy, Hawaiian Electric said in the news release.
Customers already enrolled in certain programs, such as Hawaiian Electric’s Customer Grid Supply program and Smart Export program, will be required to transition to the Smart Renewable Energy export track, within seven years.
Customers enrolled in Hawaiian Electric’s Net Energy Metering and Net Energy Meeting Plus programs are not required to make any changes.
Payments for solar power sent to the grid under the Smart Renewable Energy program vary depending on the time of the day and the customer’s location. Customers on the island of Maui, for example, will receive roughly 7 cents per KWh returned to the grid in the daytime, 18 cents per KWh during the evening peak, and 13 cents per KWh overnight.
The Bring Your Own Device program pays customers who install battery storage.
While it pays less upfront than the previous Battery Bonus program, BYOD still pays a per-month credit of $5 per committed KW in addition to the initial credit of $100 per committed KW.
