Who would expect that the small islands of Hawaii are the solar hot water leaders within the United States!

Image from mauisolarproject.org

Check out the size of Hawaii’s solar energy market compared to other key states:

Source: Solar Energy Industries Association.

Considering the fact that Hawaii’s population is a mere 2.5 percent of California’s, it is not difficult to see why the 31st and 50th states deserve notice.

Image from mauisolarproject.org

Hawaii supports solar hot water with a mix of policies:
• An upfront solar hot water rebate of $750 for residential systems ($125/deferred kilowatt-hour for commercial systems)
• A state tax credit of 35 percent.
• The broader 30 percent federal tax credit.
• A requirement that all new single-family homes come with solar hot water system installed beginning in 2010, cutting energy costs by 30%.

What does this means for a typical residential buyer?
If the initial system cost is $7000 (a conservative estimate — Hawaii Energy Efficiency Program estimates the average initial cost is $6,620).
After the upfront rebate of $750, your contractor bill would be $6,250. With the 30 percent federal tax credit, your expenditures would total $4,375.
Finally, after the state tax credit of 35 percent, your ultimate costs would come to a mere $2,500. Of course, this is assuming that you have the appetite for these tax credits — check with a tax expert to see if this is the case.

A residential solar hot water system can pay off in 2 years, and a system lasts between 15-20 years!

As noted above, for a tiny island state with a population just over 1 million, their contribution to and example for the solar hot water market is truly commendable. Many of these efforts had developed from Hawaii’s lack of traditional energy resources and the related need to import oil and gas.

Their Renewable Energy Policy begins by explaining:
The objectives in the area of Alternate and Renewable Energy are to promote commercialization of Hawaii’s sustainable energy resources and technologies in order to reduce the state’s high dependence on imported oil, increase local economic development and reduce the potential negative economic impacts of oil price fluctuations.

Clearly, well-built motivation to implement renewable energy sources leads to prominent results.
The state of Hawaii has a goal of at least 70 percent renewable energy use by 2030. “Achieving this goal is nearly impossible without widespread use of solar water heaters,” Hawaii Sierra Club director Jeff Mikulina says. “The solar roofs bill is smart policy, sensibly crafted to smooth a transition toward zero-energy homes of the future.”

Image by This Old House.

Hawaii, which has always been a dream vacation destination and an ideal residence across the Pacific, has become a sensible renewable energy policy leader!

Kapalua, Maui, HI. Image by Your Solar Link – www.yoursolarlink.com

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Tags: energy resources, Hawaii’s solar energy market, residential solar hot water system, solar, solar energy, Solar Energy Industries Association, solar hot water system, solar hot water systems, sustainable energy resources and technologies