Today marks an important milestone in Hawaii’s pursuit to gain energy independence and movement toward its sustainable future. State regulators approved a transformative initiative called “feed-in tariff” which will enable companies generating up to 500 kW of renewable electricity to sell it back to HECO’s utilities on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.
Instead of requiring renewable energy developers to go through extensive negotiations with HECO to be able to sell electricity to the utility, the feed-in tariff (FIT), will use of a standard contract for pricing, terms and conditions during the process. After two years of environmental groups and energy companies participating in discussions with the Public Utilities Commission about this case, the FIT’s approval today will undoubtedly propel rapid growth of renewable energy development in Hawaii.
A feed-in tariff (FIT) is the price per unit of electricity that a utility or supplier has to pay for renewable electricity from private generators, such as a home owner who has, for example, installed a solar energy system on their rooftop.
FIT puts the end user in the power position – literally! The utility company buys all the electricity produced by solar panels on your property to redistribute through the grid as eco-friendly green energy.
To read the Honolulu Star Advertiser article on this topic, click here. We will provide more information on this topic in future blog posts.
