To: Hermina Morita, Chair, PUC, The Hawaii State House, and The Hawaii State Senate
Energy security for Hawaii via PVBBs (PVs with Battery Backup)
1. Allow HELCO to invest in and/or partner with installers of distributed PVBBs, so that no willing home or business is “left behind” without solar panels
2. Update NEM (Net Energy Metering) contract terms for home or business PVBBs under 20 kW, to require at least 2.5 hours of "active" on-site storage for its associated peak PV output.
Example: 2-kW x 2.5-hrs = 5-kWh battery for a 2-kW PV
3. Encourage new building / electric code to include PVBBs
4. Approve higher FIT (Feed-In Tariff) rates for PVBBs than PVs because distributed batteries help stabilize the grid.
The rationale for high penetration of distributed PVBBs is to:
• Provide electricity generation that is renewable, affordable, low-maintenance, long-life, environmentally benign, pono, and secure
• Provide the On-Site Battery Backup needed to level peak demand periods, avoid PV-caused grid overload, cut transmission losses & oil imports, and preserve a viable grid-based utility business.
• Retain such gid business for Secondary Backup as a low-maintenance option (rather than on-site generator sets) and for managing PV surplus energy
• Achieve low transmission losses, high grid reliability and uninterrupted user energy and
• Reduce the need for the present triple transmission redundancy (under sea & on land)
as detailed further in
http://AlohaFuels.pbworks.com/f/PB-12-WHT-HELCO-IRP-3-950.pdf
and http://AlohaFuels.pbworks.com/f/VG-13-PVBB-Security.pdf
2. Update NEM (Net Energy Metering) contract terms for home or business PVBBs under 20 kW, to require at least 2.5 hours of "active" on-site storage for its associated peak PV output.
Example: 2-kW x 2.5-hrs = 5-kWh battery for a 2-kW PV
3. Encourage new building / electric code to include PVBBs
4. Approve higher FIT (Feed-In Tariff) rates for PVBBs than PVs because distributed batteries help stabilize the grid.
The rationale for high penetration of distributed PVBBs is to:
• Provide electricity generation that is renewable, affordable, low-maintenance, long-life, environmentally benign, pono, and secure
• Provide the On-Site Battery Backup needed to level peak demand periods, avoid PV-caused grid overload, cut transmission losses & oil imports, and preserve a viable grid-based utility business.
• Retain such gid business for Secondary Backup as a low-maintenance option (rather than on-site generator sets) and for managing PV surplus energy
• Achieve low transmission losses, high grid reliability and uninterrupted user energy and
• Reduce the need for the present triple transmission redundancy (under sea & on land)
as detailed further in
http://AlohaFuels.pbworks.com/f/PB-12-WHT-HELCO-IRP-3-950.pdf
and http://AlohaFuels.pbworks.com/f/VG-13-PVBB-Security.pdf
Why is this important?
In order to facilitate and advance affordable, environmentally benign, energy security at less than 20¢/kWh for all homes and businesses in Hawaii via greater deployment of long-service-life solar PVBBs without PV-caused grid overload and instabilities, while retaining a reliable profitable grid system business, we submit the above petitions.