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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
Maui car dealership
going greener
Electric bills for Maui's Island Dodge dealership used to run $7,000 a month.
CORRECTION
Thursday, March 11, 2003>> The renewable-energy system to be expanded at Island Dodge on Maui is not net energy metered at this time, as implied in "TheBuzz" on Page E1 Sunday. Current law allows for net energy metering, where electricity is fed back into the power grid and the utility customer receives credit at the retail rate, on systems of 10 kilowatts or less. A bill before the state Legislature would expand net metering to renewable-energy systems of up to 50 kilowatts.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.Energy-saving technology has reduced that by about two- thirds.
Next month, President and General Manager Roy Kitagawa will expand the facility's solar electric system with help from Hilo-based ProVision Technologies Inc.
"I decided to expand the system to its optimum size, to get the full benefit of the inverter that I had installed a year ago," Kitagawa said.
"As far as the savings, we have a combination. Not only the photovoltaic, but we have ice storage, whereby ice is created by the air conditioning unit at night and the following day that melting ice is blown into the building.
"What it does is offset our day-use of the power ... and the ice storage helps us as far as utilizing power when it is cheaper.
"I'm doing it for my kids. They're taking over the business and I don't want to see them have to worry about the high cost of energy. It's only going higher every year. I'm just trying to do my fair share of being less dependent on oil."
Fascinating talk from a 44-year car dealer whose dad was a gas station operator.
"My wish is that more people would get involved, especially the business community, with roof space, to take advantage of mother nature," Kitagawa said.
ProVision President Marco Mangelsdorf describes Kitagawa as a solar pioneer. The expansion project "implies he's satisfied, if not more so ... or he wouldn't blow a bunch more money."
The savings are possible through a 2001 law governing net energy metering. It allows commercial and residential electric customers with renewable energy systems to be credited for any surplus energy the systems feed into the grid.
It is a step beyond solar energy to keep your water hot.
"Price reductions, greater reliability and less maintenance has been achieved with grid connection systems that do not need batteries. You're using the grid as the battery," said Mangelsdorf.
There is a however.
"For those people who would like to have a zero-dollar-per-month-bill, that's not possible," he said. There is still a minimum customer fee.
ProVision residential and commercial customers' systems range from one kilowatt of solar output to Island Dodge's more than 52 kilowatts.
By the end of last year there were 45 solar electric systems that are net energy metered, according to the state Public Utilities Commission.
A one-kilowatt system could be installed for approximately $7,000 to $9,000. "There is an economy of scale. A larger system would bring the dollar-per-watt cost down," Mangelsdorf said.
He jokes about a possible company slogan that plays on the word green as environmental and monetary, "More green mo' bettah," he chuckled.
Incentives are greater for businesses than for homeowners.
Businesses "can get essentially 80 percent of the system paid for through tax credits and depreciation over five years," so with cost savings on electricity the system has paid for itself over five or six years, said Mangelsdorf. Additional tax credit information is posted at www.provisiontechnologies.com . ProVision cites PowerLight Corp. as a friendly competitor.
Technologies such as net energy metering and ice storage are beneficial, rather than detrimental to the utility company, according to Karl Stahlkopf, president of Renewable Hawaii, a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Co.
When peak usage is shaved by energy-saving technology it delays the need for construction of generating plants, he said.
"It's one of these deals where everybody wins," Stahlkopf said.
Auto dealer Charles King will soon install a system at King Auto Center in Lihue, Kauai, Mangelsdorf said.
Stahlkopf is heartened.
"I'm glad there's another true believer and I'm glad to hear Marco is making a little money," he said.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com
