HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0191.001 1998-2000 ~,tr w x~
y..,.~'
Stephen K. Yamashiro 6i Diane S. Quitiquit
Mayor Director
~~'Oi• •11A~'
~Dl[Yl'~~ II~ ~MGT~Ctt 1 .
DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
25 Aupuni Street, Room 219 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720-4252
HILO: (808) 961-8366 • Fax (808) 935-1205 - KONA: (808) 329-5226 • Fax (808) 326-5663
E-mail: chresdev@interpaanet
April 1, 1999
MEMORANDUM
TO: MR. JAMES Y ARAKAKI, CHAIRMAN HAWAII COUNTY
COUNCIL AND COUNCIL MEMBERS q
VIA: DIANEQUITIQUIT,DIRECTOR Q•y' 1
FROM; RAYMOND CARR, ENERGY COORDINATOR
SUBJECT: PV SYSTEMS AT THE MAUNA LANI BAY HOTEL
Mr. Peter Dreyfus, National Coordinator for the Million Solar Roofs Initiative of the US
Department of Energy, is scheduled to make a presentation at the Apri17 meeting of the
County Council Committee on Human Services and Economic Development. In this
content, I would like to draw your attention to the attached article from the March 15
edition of Pacific Business News that provides a good overview of the Mauna Lani Bay
photovoltaic project, the largest resort solar electric system in the world.
Hawaii Island has been rated as a premier location within the US for the early
deployment of cost effective photovoltaic systems, and the County of Hawaii has already
received a Certificate of Recognition from Mr. Dreyfus for early support of the Million
Solar Roofs Initiative. I believe that progressive projects from private concerns such as
the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel combined with government support and the comprehensive
solar energy program of the Hawaii Electric Light Company can combine to make the
Big Island a leader in the deployment of this rapidly growing renewable resource.
Attachment
c.c. Mayor Stephen K. Yamashiro
Hajime Yoshida, President, Mauna Lani Bay Hotel
John Crouch, Director of Pacific Operations, PowerLight Company
Maurice Kaya, Program Manager, DBEDT ERT
Tom Goya, Manager of Customer Relations, HELCO ~ Q,. O O,
Comm. No• '1
File No. EGy
Ref. To-?resented NSCOL
Ref, Date APR 1 1999
March 15, 1999
Solar electric power system shining at Mauna Lani Resort
Ivdr~r 6omss PBN Staff Reporter
PowerLight Corp., a Berkeley, Calif., company with an office on the Big Island,
expects to install several commercial solar systems in Hawaii by the end of the
year after recent success with its first application at the Mauna Lani Resort.
Mauna Lani's solar project is touted by hotel officials as the largest resort solar
electric system in the world.
Last May, the Kohala Coast resort installed a 70-kilowatt (AC) photovoltaic
system using 10,000 square feet of silicon cells on the roof of the Mauna Lani
Bay Hotel and Bungalows to convert solar energy to electricity.
In December, it added a 110-kilowatt (AC) system covering 14,000 square feet of
roof on two golf maintenance buildings to help power the clubhouse, pro shop
and restaurant. Golf carts are also equipped with, and powered by, solar panels.
The hotel project is expected to generate an internal rate of return of 23 percent
and save about $1 million in net operating costs over a 25-year period. Likewise,
the golf project's expected internal rate of return is roughly 25 percent and should
save about $1.5 million over 25 years.
The hotel system over 30 years will replace about 14,500 barrels of oil otherwise
imported and burned to generate the same amount of electricity. The golf system
offsets about 16,000 barrels.
Norman Ah Hee, engineering manager for resort services, said the system,
which is under warranty for 20 years and should last 30 years, will pay for itself in
seven years.
"After seven years, it's free power," he said.
The golf system provides about 60 percent of total electricity needed for golf
operations without storing and carrying over any energy day to day.
Resort President Hajime Yoshida called the resort system, which is performing at
108 percent of original expectations, a "tremendous success." Likewise, the golf
system is performing at about 110 percent of what was expected.
Such effectiveness has led resort officials to consider powering more projects
using photovoltaics. Right now, Ah Hee said feasibility of powering sewage
treatment plant equipment is being studied.
Unlike the golf project, which is considered a perfect application because
electrical use coincides with power production that peaks at midday, a sewage
project would be less efficient, Ah Hee noted.
"We just have to look at the numbers to see what's feasible," he said.
Still, even with good numbers, acceptance of a technology can be cautious when
achievements in using it profitably on a commercial scale are relatively recent.
Ah Hee explained that the initial photovoltaic system for the hotel was to be 200
kilowatts (AC), but that there was hesitation to go for such a big project.
John Crouch, PowerLight's director of Pacific operations, said it took 12 to 18
months of discussions to decide to do the first project and that the resort's
corporate philosophy of preserving the environment was a motivator.
Ultimately though, the bottom line can be the bottom line. Crouch said that just in
the last 12 to 18 months did PowerLight's patented technology, dubbed the
PowerRoof System, become economically viable for commercial applications.
The company was established in 1991 as its technology was being patented. By
1993, systems were in the field. And in 1998 PowerLight opened a Big Island
office.
Crouch said Hawaii is awell-suited place for commercial photovoltaic technology
use because of three primary factors.
First, the state has high energy costs. "Hawaii has probably the highest electrical
rates around the country," he said, adding that neighbor island rates are
considerably higher than Oahu's.
Maurice Kaya, energy administrator at the state Department of Business,
Economic Development and Tourism, said Hawaii's high energy costs encourage
businesses to look at alternate energy systems like photovoltaics.
Government tax credits and special funding are also key reasons why
photovoltaics works now in commercial settings. State tax credits amounting to
35 percent of project cost combined with federal matching funds of up to 17
percent of a system's value are available.
Crouch said the industry expects the cost of a photovoltaic cell to move from $7
per watt to the $5- to $3-a-watt range in the next five to eight years, at which time
the need for public support might be unneeded if not at least diminished, he said.
The third factor is environmental concern.
In general, the three circumstances are prompting more companies to embrace
commercial photovoltaic systems.
Week of March 15,1999 </pacifidstories/1999/03/lSh ~ Leading Stories