Hawaii - Lots of EVs and Solar install.

Some observations from a recent Hawaii trip. Though I'd share...................
As I started driving from the airport, I noticed quite a few LEAFs. It was also amazing to see the number of solar panels installs on the roofs of houses. Almost seemed like every other house had a solar panel. I was wondering if the state of Hawaii had some strong incentives for EVs and Solar installs. Many businesses had free charging for EVs. One of the Target stores had a free two hour charging. I went by that store twice on two different days and did find it being used or ICEd.

Also, found a DC fast charge (paid) at Dole Plantation. Polynesian cultural center offered 2 free L2 chargers on each side of their parking lot and none of them were in use. Finally found a LEAF being charged on my way out. By the evening the parking lot of over flowing but still the EV charge parking was not ICEd.

May not be a news for many of you, but I found it interesting that
- many businesses offered free charging which is not as common in AZ.
- EV charging spots were not ICEd.

Some pictures.

DC Fast Charger at Dole Plantation
http://i.imgur.com/kFfJrSF.jpg

Free L2 charging courtsey of Polynesian Cultural Center (sorry its not very readable)
http://imgur.com/qTZHcOa

Leaf Charging at PCC (other spot still open)
http://i.imgur.com/hjQKOrP.jpg

Islanders are always more independently minded, no matter their political sway. Energy imported on a boat to the island is expensive,, make your own, good news. You should watch a youtube video about the far Northern Scottish island where EVs and solar are popular for the same reasons. in fact they are now energy independent because of it. so much so the utilities are following suit.
https://youtu.be/FXe1hBvlylw

Electricity is expensive in Hawaii, particularly for islands other than Oahu (Honolulu), so if you want an EV you're pretty much going to need solar. Otherwise your cost per mile could exceed that of a typical 4 cylinder family sedan even at Hawaii gas prices.

For example, look at these rates for standard residential service on Maui: https://www.hawaiianelectric.com/Documents/my_account/rates/maui_electric_rates_maui/maui_rates_sch_r.pdf

Tier 1 first 350 kWH: 9.34 cents
Tier 2 350-850 kWH: 11.6 cents
Tier 3 above 850 kWH: 12.24 cents

That doesn't sound bad (in fact it sounds cheap), until you add in the mandatory 23 cents/kWH base fuel/energy charge. So those figures above are now 32.34/34.6/35.24 cents/kWH respectively. Plus there's an added $8.50 Customer Service Charge. Your minimum bill is $18/month.

TOU-R rates aren't much better https://www.hawaiianelectric.com/Documents/my_account/rates/maui_electric_rates_maui/maui_rates_sch_tou_r.pdf

Priority Peak: 37.34 cents
Mid Peak: 34.84 cents
Off Peak: 27.34 cents

PLUS per kWH charges of 2.26 cents for 350-1200 kWH and 2.9 cents above 1200 kWH.

Oahu isn't as bad but still kinda pricey at 8.1/9.25/11.13 cents respectively plus 13.6 base fuel charge on the regular plan https://www.hawaiianelectric.com/Documents/my_account/rates/hawaiian_electric_rates/heco_rates_sch_r.pdf

and 26.71/23.71/18.21 plus 1.15/3.03 respectively for the TOU-R plan https://www.hawaiianelectric.com/Documents/my_account/rates/hawaiian_electric_rates/heco_rates_tou_r.pdf

The Big Island is more expensive than Oahu but a bit cheaper than Maui. You do NOT want to know what electricity costs on Molokai or especially Lanai (hint: the base fuel charge alone is 32.27 cents) .

At these prices I'm surprised anybody offers free charging over there.

installed solar about 7 years ago...paid for it self, started with 10 cells, then got an idea to do a aluminum gazebo and put another 10 on there. you get killed on KW here. Kauai is really bad cause their fuel comes from here first, and they just recently started doing incentives for surplus power....hawaii gov is seriously broken, and HECO (hawaiian electric) is pretty bad too, when we lose power, down pole, earth quake...heavy winds, expect to not have juice for 24 hours.

inphoenix said:

As I started driving from the airport, I noticed quite a few LEAFs. It was also amazing to see the number of solar panels installs on the roofs of houses. Almost seemed like every other house had a solar panel. I was wondering if the state of Hawaii had some strong incentives for EVs and Solar installs.

Click to expand...

My mother-in-law lives on Oahu and has rooftop solar. When she installed it, IIRC, there was a 35% state incentive to go along with the 30% federal. So she basically paid 35 cents on the dollar for her system. I think it was about a 3 year payoff for her given the electricity rates and good solar potential. The combination of high energy costs, large solar subsidies, a tropical location, and about 275 sunny days per year made it a no-brainer. I don't believe the state still subsidizes it to that extent, but at the time it was a hell of a deal and many others took advantage.

In terms of the viability of EV's out there, consider that Hawaii is the state with the highest gas costs in the country and it is only about 120 miles to drive around the entire island of Oahu. I lived out there with a moped and a bus pass for 4 years and really only had issues when I wanted to play golf. Even when I got a car I would drive maybe 100 miles a week. It is borderline hot out there (above 85 for about half the year) so it probably isn't ideal for batteries but it doesn't get near as hot as the desert SW or anything. And you have none of the cold weather issues to worry about that seem to kill a lot of peoples range. So it is pretty ideal in my opinion.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/USA

If we ever move back, and we may once my daughter is older (public schools generally suck there anyplace we could afford to live), I will definitely plan to have an EV and rooftop solar. That is assuming, of course, that we could afford to buy a house there... which is another story all together. But cost of living aside, I think it is about the perfect place for the paring of rooftop solar + BEVs for the reasons I listed above.