Infographic: Hawaii's Solar Tax Credits and Financial Incentives

Infographic: Hawaii’s Solar Tax Credits and Financial Incentives

Hawaii is installing a lot of photovoltaics.

Eric Wesoff April 23, 2013

Eric Wesoff

Editor-at-Large
Greentech Media

Eric Wesoff is Editor-at-Large at Greentech Media. Prior to joining GTM, Eric Wesoff founded Sage Marketing Partners in 2000 to provide sales and marketing-consulting services to venture-capital firms and their portfolio companies in the alternative energy and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Wesoff has become a well-known, respected authority and speaker in these fields.

His expertise covers solar power, fuel cells, biofuels and advanced batteries. His strengths are in market research and analysis, business development and due diligence for investors. He frequently consults for energy startups and Silicon Valley's premier venture capitalists.

2012 was a breakout year for the Hawaiian solar market.

A combination of very high electric rates and "an overly generous 35% tax credit," in the words of Andrew Krulewitz of GTM Research, make the economics of solar in Hawaii a no-brainer. Indeed, solar in Hawaii even makes sense without the 35 percent in-state tax credit. Systems make economic sense based on net metering and the 30 percent ITC alone.

According to GTM Research, 36 megawatts of PV came on-line in the first quarter of 2012. There is 208 megawatts of cumulative PV solar installed across the HECO, HELCO, and MECO territories. GTM Research sees Hawaii installing in excess of 150 megawatts this year, according to the 2012 U.S. Solar Market Insight report.

Jigar Shah and Marco Mangelsdorf, president of ProVision Solar in Hilo, recently wrote, "The Hawaii solar industry can phase out the state tax credit and lead the way to a sustainable and fiscally prudent Hawaii."

Here's a concise infographic that details the subsidy-rich solar environment in Hawaii. It is used with the kind permission of the author, Alternate Energy, a Hawaiian solar installer. Note the striking rise in Hawaii electric prices over the last several decades.