State of Hawaii : 773 Battery Storage Projects Permitted on Oahu in 2017

Posted on Jan 31, 2018 in News

For Immediate Release: January 31, 2018

HONOLULU-The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) released a report on battery storage projects on Oahu for 2017, which shows 773 battery storage related projects permitted in 2017.

Of these permits, 731 projects were residential photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage combined, 33 projects were residential battery storage additions to existing PV systems, seven were commercial PV and battery combined, and two projects were battery additions to existing commercial PV systems.

'We are seeing an upward trend in battery storage in the area of renewable energy development, as well as the cost of installing PV systems dropping significantly during the past few years,' said DBEDT Director Luis P. Salaveria. 'In 2012, the average value of PV permits was nearly $40,000 for PV installation alone. Now, the average permit value for PV and battery together installation is below $30,000, so it's a good investment for families to install PV and battery storage.'

'To monitor the development in the renewable energy area, DBEDT has been reporting data on Oahu PV permits on weekly basis since 2012, and we have also produced a few reports on PV installation in the past few years,' noted Chief State Economist Dr. Eugene Tian. 'Our studies show that, by the end of June 2017, 19.4 percent of Oahu single family homes and townhomes have installed rooftop PV systems. If including condominium housing units, 14 percent of Oahu homes are equipped with PV systems.'

Based on building permit data released by the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, the report reveals the following information on battery storage projects:

• The first building permit for residential PV battery installation was issued in February 2008. Since then, the annual number of PV plus battery building permits was no more than 10 until 2015.
• There were 40 residential PV and battery combo projects in 2016, and the number of projects jumped to 731 in 2017, an increase of more than 18 times between the two years.
• The average value of residential PV and battery combo permits in 2017 was $29,475, and the median value of the permits was $27,552.
• The average value of battery alone and PV alone permits were $12,799 and $24,407 respectively.
• Installing PV together with battery on average was about $7,700 cheaper than installing PV and battery separately.
• Of the 731 residential PV and battery combo projects permitted in 2017, 39 percent of them were completed by the end of the year.
• Ewa area hosted the most PV plus battery projects, with 132 permits issued by the end of 2017; the area also had the second highest PV only installations.
• Kailua had the highest PV alone permits among all the neighborhood areas at 193 in 2017.
• Other areas popular with residential PV and battery combo permits include Waipahu (61) and Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale (59).

The full report is available here

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Media Contact:

Christine Hirasa
Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism
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Website: dbedt.hawaii.gov