SUNPOWER!

May, 2007 – Hamakua Times

Let the sun shine! The Hotel Honoka’a Club’s recently installed Solar Photovoltaic Power System keeps Jory Watland and Annelle Lee smiling. Since the system has been energized, the energy portion of their HELCO bill has been $0.00. They are generating more electricity than they are using and only pay the minimum connect fee.

This type of system allows the excess electricity generated during the day to be applied as a credit to their nighttime usage, thus reducing their bill. Jory feels the system makes economic sense and has had a very positive environmental impression with their clientele.

Financed through a combination of loans, tax credits and a USDA grant, the system was designed and implemented by the local experts at ProVision Technologies, Inc. in Hilo. Douglas Bath was on hand May 4th at the inauguration of the system to explain the details of the system, financing and the tax credit possibilities to the group of business people that attended.

Doug said there are both Federal and State tax credits available for this type of system along with the possible USDA grants for qualified installations. Though the paperwork for grants is extensive, there is money available for those who don’t qualify for bank loans.

When originally considering and engineering the installation it was determined the roof structure would not support the weight of the panels, so roof trusses had to be fortified. Since the panels have a 25+ year life, the roofing was also replaced. Consisting of (64) 215 watt high-efficiency SunPower panels, the system has the capability of generating over 13 kilowatts of power. The control boxes are mounted on the side of the building and have a unique feature that allows you to see the accumulated saving of greenhouse gasses by not consuming fossil fuels for electricity generation.

Doug Bath said that while the Hotel Honoka’a Club has had exceptional results, with the system currently providing over 100% of their needs, 50-80% is more realistic for most installations.

Stop by the Hotel and take a look, and if you have technical questions give Doug Bath a call at ProVision Technologies, Inc. at (808) 969-3281.