Solar water heaters, clotheslines get legislative OK

Solar water heaters and clotheslines won big at the state Legislature this session, but a plastic-bag bill snagged on whether counties should be allowed to enact tighter restrictions.

The governor has until July 8 to take action on the bills.

Among those she will also consider is a measure that will require all homes built after 2010 be equipped with solar water heaters. Another bill passedwould ensure that homeowners have the right to hang their laundry on a line.

But attempts to require supermarkets to take back beverage bottles for redemption never made it to the floor.

A bill regulating plastic bags was brought down by opposition to a clause that would have preempted counties from imposing their own bans or fees on plastic bags.

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Developers may want to start thinking about designing their new homes to accommodate solar water heaters in the wake of a bill passed by the state Legislature, which would make Hawaii the first state with such requirement.

The bill mandates all homes built in the state after Jan. 1, 2010, be equipped with solar water heaters.

Also, homeowners governed by community associations will likely have the right to dry their laundry on a line, due to another bill that expands the definition of a solar device to include clotheslines.

The governor has until July 8 to take final action on the bills. Spokeman Russell Pang said yesterday the governor has yet to decide whether the bills will be signed, vetoed or allowed to become law without her signature.

But a tug-o-war likely will continue over how to reduce plastic carryout bags from supermarkets, given that a bill requiring certain retailers to set up a recycling program did not make it to the governor.

The snag was a clause that would have prohibited counties from banning the non-biodegradable plastic bags.

The bag battle now shifts to Maui county, which has a pending resolution requiring the use of compostable plastic bags in certain retail stores. Honolulu county has a similar resolution stalled in committee.

Another bill requiring supermarkets to provide beverage container recycling programs never made it to the floor.

The Sierra Club calls it the best way to ensure convenience for the consumer.

Sen. Sam Slom (R, Diamond Head-Hawaii Kai), gave the state legislature low marks this session.

"We'd have to give it an "F" from a business standpoint," said Slom, also president of Small Business Hawaii. "The whole legislative session revolved around either banning or buying. ... There was nothing there for business."

He had opposed the mandatory solar bill as well as the clothesline bill.

"I don't usually vote for any bans or mandates," said Slom. "I'm a very strong proponent for solar. I have solar on my own home and did on my previous home, but I do not support forcing people to do things."

His top concern, he said, is reducing the cost of doing business in Hawaii. But bills proposing increased taxes, as well as more workers compensation requirements, were the ones that made it through this session.

The mandatory solar bill, in its final draft, continues to be divisive.

Having gone through numerous changes, the final draft of the bill prohibits the issuance of any building permit after Jan. 1, 2010 that does not account for a solar water heater system.

It directs the public utilities commission to establish standards for the solar water heat-ers, while restricting tax credits to single homes with building permits issued before 2010.

Licensed architects or engineers could also ask for a variance if they deem solar water impractical, or if they install another renewable energy system.

The Sierra Club calls it a major step toward Hawaii's clean energy future, but developers and even solar contractors continue to oppose it.

Sierra Club Hawaii director Jeff Mikulina called the mandatory solar bill common sense at a time when oil costs are more than $100 a barrel.

"We are the Saudi Arabia of sun," he said. "Each home on average receives the energy equivalent of 15 gallons of gasoline on its roof every day. Tapping into this free energy source is not only good for the globe, it's good for the pocketbook."

The Sierra Club estimates the new policy would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 12,000 additional tons per year.

Solar contractors, however, were not pleased with the final version of the bill.

Ron Richmond, spokesman for the Hawaii Solar Energy Association, said the mandate will hurt homebuyers most.

"They've effectively increased the cost of the system to the homebuyer by over $3,000," he said

He also questioned loopholes in the bill, such as giving the architectural community, which he called "the most resistant to including solar in new homes," the power to seek variances.

Karen Nakamura, CEO of Building Industry Association Hawaii, continued to oppose the bill, saying current incentives are already working and should, if anything, be increased.