Hawaii NEM Plus – You can add more PV/solar
This thread/discussion is only applicable to Hawaii residents.
I visited the BIA Home Show today. BIA Home show is open one more day – Sunday 1/27/19.
I attended the Solar/Energy Storage seminar presented by Chris Debone of Hawaii Energy Connection (KumuKit). It was a very informative 45 minutes. He discussed adding PV to existing system. And adding PV with Energy Storage to existing or new systems.
There’s a new program called Net Metering Agreement Plus or NEM Plus. The rules have recently changed.
I am not going to try and explain it all – I can’t. But I was very pleased to learn:
If you are currently a Net Metering Agreement customer, you can add more PV/solar panels without violating your existing Net Metering Agreement. AND without adding batteries/energy storage. Let’s say you have PV but are not at $0 billing, but you want to add more PV to obtain $0 billing. You can.
Scenario: You have 30 PV panels and are on a current Net Metering Agreement. You generate enough electricity that you summertime bill is $0, (let’s call this quantity “Just-Enough"). But in winter, you don’t generate the same, you generate less (let’s call this “Not-Enough”) and your HECO bill is $100-$150. If you could add 10 new panels, that would reduce your wintertime bill to $0 – Just-Enough. Under NEM Plus, you can add those 10 panels or (more 12, 15, 20) whatever. Just like before you added more PV, your summertime $0 bill is still $0, but you are now generating an excessive amount (let’s call this "Too-Much").
What’s the catch, you ask? The catch is, you cannot/will not export more back to the grid/HECO than your Net Metering Agreement states you can. You are not going to get credit for the extra/excessive power you make. The extra you generate in early spring, summer early fall – that excess as a result of the new 10+ panels is lost. Unless you use it as it’s being generated – each day, it’s lost/wasted. You can’t send it back to the grid – your Net Metering Agreement limits you.
Your next question should be – well is this worth it to get me to $0 in the winter. Considering we still quality for the 35% state and 30% federal (65% total) tax credit on the entire system, YES, I think it’s worth it. With tax credits it’s costing you 35 cents on the dollar to install more solar.
If you only need 10 panels to get to $0 billing, should you consider adding more than 10? Even 20+. What are your plans? Another EV? Adding Air Conditioning? More Air Conditioning? Selling your house to someone that has a larger family and would likely use more power than your family currently is? If there’s extra now, does not mean there would be Too-Much or even Just-Enough later. But adding solar now, Just-Enough or even Too-Much is going to increase the value of your house even if you don’t use it. So, considering with the state and federal tax credit, making it cost 35 cents on the dollar, I say YES.
If you add energy storage or batteries, you can save that extra power you generated and use it that night or the next night. If you use most of your battery, you still have energy you banked under your Net Metering Agreement. If you add energy storage/batteries to your new panel installation, the energy storage qualifies for both state and federal tax credits.
If you don’t add the batteries with the additional PV and decide to add batteries later, it’s unlikely the separate energy storage system/batteries will qualify for the state and/or federal tax credit. I’m going to add more PV. Maybe even batteries too.
Keep this in mind:
The solar contractors warn us that towards end of year, there’s too many trying to get in before end of year, and you could miss the window.
Why is this important? The federal tax credit 30% reduces to 24% in 2020 and reduces again in 2021. 2019 is the last year for 30% credit.
Don’t forget the state tax credit is 35% up to a tax credit of $5,000 calendar year. So, adding enough that exceeds the annual limit? Plan and prepare for part in 2019 and other part in early 2020. You will lose 4% of the federal tax credit in 2020, so you must weigh the state tax credit limit against losing out on 4% federal tax credit in 2020.
Both the state and federal tax credits roll over. So if you don’t use all of it the year you do it, it rolls over and you can use it in following years.
If your state tax liability to too little or zero, you can sell back to the state your earned PV tax credit for 70 cents on the dollar.
There are many Hawaii residents with and without EVs that would benefit from this info. I encourage you to share with them. Many Tesla owners never check in on TMC – wish they would.
If I have peaked your interest, (gimme an atta-boy for my effort and) contact your favorite neighbor PV contractor. Verify for your own peace of mind and wallet what I have provided here.
This thread/discussion is only applicable to Hawaii residents.
I visited the BIA Home Show today. BIA Home show is open one more day – Sunday 1/27/19.
I attended the Solar/Energy Storage seminar presented by Chris Debone of Hawaii Energy Connection (KumuKit). It was a very informative 45 minutes. He discussed adding PV to existing system. And adding PV with Energy Storage to existing or new systems.
There’s a new program called Net Metering Agreement Plus or NEM Plus. The rules have recently changed.
I am not going to try and explain it all – I can’t. But I was very pleased to learn:
If you are currently a Net Metering Agreement customer, you can add more PV/solar panels without violating your existing Net Metering Agreement. AND without adding batteries/energy storage. Let’s say you have PV but are not at $0 billing, but you want to add more PV to obtain $0 billing. You can.
Scenario: You have 30 PV panels and are on a current Net Metering Agreement. You generate enough electricity that you summertime bill is $0, (let’s call this quantity “Just-Enough"). But in winter, you don’t generate the same, you generate less (let’s call this “Not-Enough”) and your HECO bill is $100-$150. If you could add 10 new panels, that would reduce your wintertime bill to $0 – Just-Enough. Under NEM Plus, you can add those 10 panels or (more 12, 15, 20) whatever. Just like before you added more PV, your summertime $0 bill is still $0, but you are now generating an excessive amount (let’s call this "Too-Much").
What’s the catch, you ask? The catch is, you cannot/will not export more back to the grid/HECO than your Net Metering Agreement states you can. You are not going to get credit for the extra/excessive power you make. The extra you generate in early spring, summer early fall – that excess as a result of the new 10+ panels is lost. Unless you use it as it’s being generated – each day, it’s lost/wasted. You can’t send it back to the grid – your Net Metering Agreement limits you.
Your next question should be – well is this worth it to get me to $0 in the winter. Considering we still quality for the 35% state and 30% federal (65% total) tax credit on the entire system, YES, I think it’s worth it. With tax credits it’s costing you 35 cents on the dollar to install more solar.
If you only need 10 panels to get to $0 billing, should you consider adding more than 10? Even 20+. What are your plans? Another EV? Adding Air Conditioning? More Air Conditioning? Selling your house to someone that has a larger family and would likely use more power than your family currently is? If there’s extra now, does not mean there would be Too-Much or even Just-Enough later. But adding solar now, Just-Enough or even Too-Much is going to increase the value of your house even if you don’t use it. So, considering with the state and federal tax credit, making it cost 35 cents on the dollar, I say YES.
If you add energy storage or batteries, you can save that extra power you generated and use it that night or the next night. If you use most of your battery, you still have energy you banked under your Net Metering Agreement. If you add energy storage/batteries to your new panel installation, the energy storage qualifies for both state and federal tax credits.
If you don’t add the batteries with the additional PV and decide to add batteries later, it’s unlikely the separate energy storage system/batteries will qualify for the state and/or federal tax credit. I’m going to add more PV. Maybe even batteries too.
Keep this in mind:
The solar contractors warn us that towards end of year, there’s too many trying to get in before end of year, and you could miss the window.
Why is this important? The federal tax credit 30% reduces to 24% in 2020 and reduces again in 2021. 2019 is the last year for 30% credit.
Don’t forget the state tax credit is 35% up to a tax credit of $5,000 calendar year. So, adding enough that exceeds the annual limit? Plan and prepare for part in 2019 and other part in early 2020. You will lose 4% of the federal tax credit in 2020, so you must weigh the state tax credit limit against losing out on 4% federal tax credit in 2020.
Both the state and federal tax credits roll over. So if you don’t use all of it the year you do it, it rolls over and you can use it in following years.
If your state tax liability to too little or zero, you can sell back to the state your earned PV tax credit for 70 cents on the dollar.
There are many Hawaii residents with and without EVs that would benefit from this info. I encourage you to share with them. Many Tesla owners never check in on TMC – wish they would.
If I have peaked your interest, (gimme an atta-boy for my effort and) contact your favorite neighbor PV contractor. Verify for your own peace of mind and wallet what I have provided here.
