Hawaiian Electric Company's Feed-In Tariff ("FIT") program is, designed to encourage the addition of more renewable energy projects in Hawaii. Pre-established FIT rates and standardized FIT contract terms provide an easy way for individuals, small businesses, governmental entities, or other developers to sell renewable energy to Hawaiian Electric. This site provides information to help prospective FIT generators determine the feasibility projects and submit them for approval.
Please be advised that Hawaiian Electric has completed the cleanup of the Hawaiian Electric Feed-In Tariff program queue (“FIT Queue”), which was conducted pursuant to PUC Orders 30457, 30635 and 30659.
Accordingly, the Hawaiian Electric FIT Queue will be reopened to receive new applications on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 9:00AM HST.
Projects that have been affected by the FIT Queue cleanup should have receive a notice in their My FIT Docs folder prior to the reopening of the FIT Queue. If you do not receive a notice, your project has not been affected.”
On September 14, 2012 the Public Utilities Commission issued Order 30635 ruling on multiple motions in Docket 2008-0273. This Order clarifies certain issues regarding the administration of the FIT queues. Applicants in the Tier 2 Active and Reserve queues are responsible for ensuring that their projects are compliant with Order 30635.
In accordance with the Commission's Order, Hawaiian Electric provides the following information to Applicants:
What are the acceptable forms needed to demonstrate compliance of the Tier 2 Building Permit Application Pre-Qualification?
The Building Permit Application issued by the City & County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) is identified by a project specific number issued to an applicant in the following format: A2011-12-3456 (BPA Number). Any one of the following 4 forms, with the required information, are accepted forms of demonstrating compliance. Examples, with the required information (highlighted in yellow), are shown by clicking on the links below:
For FIT applications that were received before January 3, 2012, the Completed Date must be on or before January 3, 2012
•
For all other FIT applications, the Completed Date must be on or before the FIT application date.
4.
A copy of the Building Permit: the Date Issued must be visible.
•
For FIT applications that were received before January 3, 2012, the Date Issued must be on or before January 3, 2012
•
For all other FIT applications, the Date Issued must be on or before the FIT application date.
Instructions for posting conforming building permit documentation to the website.
Order 30635 approves Part III.A of the HECO Companies proposal for updating the queue. In order to manage the queue on a going forward basis, the Companies must first remove all applications which are not fully compliant with existing application processes and requirements and relevant Commission orders.
To the extent an applicant can demonstrate that it has submitted a complete building permit application that meets the Commission’s timeliness standard the Companies will consider that application to be in compliance with Order 30635.
The documentation file should be in PDF format with the following naming convention:
aa-pp BPA mm-dd-yyyy where
•
aa is the applicant number,
•
pp is the project number and
•
mm-dd-yyyy is the date the building permit application number was issued.
For example, Applicant #100 would name their file for project 01 as: 100-01 BPA 09-07-2011.PDF.
The file should be uploaded to the HECOFITIO website into the Permits and Documentation folder for the project. The deadline for submitting proof of meeting the building permit application requirement is 11:59 p.m. Friday, September 21, 2012.
To view Sample Pre-Qualification Check Lists, Sample Applications for Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 and other Feed-In Tariff related documents click here.
Under the guidelines issued by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, renewable technologies eligible for the FIT include photovoltaic (PV), concentrated solar power (CSP), in-line hydro (Tier 1 and Tier 2 only), and on-shore wind. See below:
Tier
Project Size
1
0 - 20 kW on all islands
2
Greater than 20 kW and up to and including:
PV: 500 kW on Oahu, 250 kW on Maui and Hawaii, and
100 kW on Lanai and Molokai;
CSP: 500 kW on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii, and
100 kW on Lanai and Molokai;
In-line hydro: 100 kW on all islands;
Onshore wind: 100 kW on all islands
3
Greater than Tier 2 maximums and up to and including the lesser of 5 MW on Oahu and 2.72 MW on Maui and Hawaii or 1% of the system peak load from the previous year,
Except that wind generation is precluded on Maui and Hawaii
The energy payment rates are determined by the technology type and the size of the project. See below:
Renewable Generator Type and Size
FIT Energy Payment Rate (¢/kWh)
Tier 1 PV < = 20 kW
21.8
Tier 1 CSP < = 20 kW
26.9
Tier l On-Shore Wind < = 20 kW
16.1
Tier 1 In-line Hydropower < = 20 kW
21.3
Tier 2 PV > 20 kW and < = 500 kW
18.9
Tier 2 CSP > 20 kW and < = 500 kW
25.4
Tier 2 On-Shore Wind > 20 kW and < = 100 kW
13.8
Tier 2 In-line Hydropower > 20 kW and < =100 kW
18.9
Tier 3 PV > 500 kW and < = the lesser of 5 MW or 1% of the system peak load
19.7
Tier 3 CSP > 500 kW and < = the lesser of 5 MW or 1% of the system peak load
31.5
Tier 3 On-Shore Wind > 100 kW and < = the lesser of 5 MW or 1% of the system peak load
12.0
Baseline FIT Rate
12.0
The energy payment rates specified in paragraph G(l) for solar energy technologies (PV and CSP) are based on the 35% Hawaii state renewable energy technologies income tax credit as prescribed in the Hawaii state tax code, Hawaii Revised Statutes ("HRS") Section 235-12.5. Under HRS Section 235-12.5(g), the Seller may elect a reduced refundable tax credit. If Seller intends to elect the reduced refundable tax credit, Seller must provide written documentation at the time of application under this Schedule FIT that Seller will elect the reduced refundable tax credit option. If Seller provides a certified copy of Seller's actual tax return filing with the Hawaii State Department of Taxation documenting the election of the reduced refundable tax credit, the FIT energy payment schedule below will be applicable to Seller from the first day of the billing period following the date the certified copy is provided to the Company. Seller will receive an adjustment payment representing the difference between the applicable rate pursuant to paragraph G(l) paid to Seller since the Commercial Operation Date and the applicable rate below which Seller has demonstrated it is eligible to receive, within 60 days of receipt of the certified copy of Seller's actual tax return filing.
Renewable Generator Type and Size
FIT Energy Payment Rate (¢/kWh)
Tier 1 PV < = 20 kW
27.4
Tier 1 CSP < = 20 kW
33.1
Tier 2 PV > 20 kW and < = 500 kW
23.8
Tier 2 CSP > 20 kW and < = 500 kW
27.5
Tier 3 PV > 500 kW and < = the lesser of 5 MW or 1% of the system peak load
23.6
Tier 3 CSP > 500 kW and < = the lesser of 5 MW or 1% of the system peak load
33.5
The rates paid by the Company for the electric energy purchased under this Schedule FIT may be adjusted periodically as ordered and approved by the Commission. The Seller shall receive the FIT energy payment rate in effect at the time of execution of the Schedule FIT Agreement for the entire term of the Schedule FIT Agreement, provided, however, that the FIT energy payment rate may be modified by the Commission during the term of the Agreement if it is determined by the Commission to be necessary to maintain the viability of Seller's development and operation of Facility due to changes in federal or state tax laws.
Who can participate?
Residential and business customers can participate as long as the available FIT capacity has not been exceeded. Current Net Energy Metering ("NEM") customers will receive a one-time choice to convert from NEM to FIT.
FIT capacity
The capacity of the queue for FIT projects will be as follows:
Oahu - 60 MW
Big Island - 10 MW
Maui, Lanai, Molokai (combined) - 10 MW
Circuit loading
To help determine the available capacity in a general area, a snap shot at circuit loading can be seen on the Locational Value Maps (LVM). The LVM has been developed and provides a visual of the:
* Geographic areas of faster distribution growth within the next 3-5 years where distributed resources and energy efficiency could be beneficial within the existing transmission and distribution system
* Level of distributed generation penetration on distribution circuits as a percentage of peak circuit load at a point in time
Management of the FIT Application and Queuing Process
The management of the FIT application and queuing process is being conducted by Accion Group, Inc., who also serves as the Independent Third Party Observer overseeing the Hawaiian Electric FIT program on behalf of the Commission.
Contact us
For questions and inquires regarding HECO Companies' FIT, please email them to: FIT@HECO.COM or call
(808) 543-4044.
Mailing Address: Hawaiian Electric Company
Energy Procurement CP21-XB
ATTN: FIT
PO Box 2750
Honolulu, HI 96840
