Florida, home of the company trying to buy Hawaii’s largest electrical utility, has a hostile environment for rooftop solar, according to a top executive at SolarCity Corp.
“It’s a very hostile environment. Unfortunately, very little solar is being adopted there as a result,” said Peter Rive, co-founder of San Mateo, Calif.-based SolarCity, in a telephone interview Tuesday. SolarCity is the largest solar employer and installer in the United States with more than 230,000 solar-energy systems installed as of December. SolarCity’s Chairman is Tesla Motors Inc. CEO Elon Musk.
Florida doesn’t allow residents to lease solar-energy systems from a third party, which is a large part of SolarCity’s business.
NextEra Energy Inc., the company looking to buy Hawaiian Electric Industries, owns the largest rate-regulated electrical utility in Florida and is linked to a lobbying group that is working to maintain the current regulation prohibiting third-party leasing for solar.
There were 7,513 solar-energy systems in Florida, the third most populous state, as of November, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. There are approximately 61,000 residential solar systems in Hawaii, the 4oth state in terms of population.
The major electric utilities in Florida — Florida Power &Light (FPL), Duke Energy, Gulf Power and Tampa Electric — financially backed a lobbying group looking to retain regulation on third-party leasing of solar-energy systems in Florida. NextEra Energy Hawaii LLC president and CEO Eric Gleason said NextEra’s utility subsidiary, FPL, gave $595,000 in contributions to Consumers for Smart Solar, the lobbying group.
NextEra says the low solar-energy adoption at FPL — 3,000 systems for 4.8 million customers — is a result of lower electricity rates. Florida’s electricity rates are roughly 8 percent lower than the national average, according to the EIA.
Rive said that he hopes the hostile environment in Florida doesn’t spread into Hawaii if NextEra is successful in its purchase of HEI.
“We’re hopeful that if this does go through they will have a different approach to solar given Hawaii’s goal to become 100 percent renewable,” Rive said. Hawaii has a goal of getting the equivalent of 100 percent of its electric power from renewable sources by 2045.
SolarCity will begin taking orders for its battery-tied solar-energy systems beginning today, Rive said.
SolarCity will begin offering a suite of home-energy technology, including a solar-energy system, a Tesla Powerwall battery, smart electric water heaters and the Nest Learning Thermostat.
SolarCity’s smart energy home management system connects the solar to the batteries, which will store excess electricity generated from the solar-powered system during the day, then deliver it to the home at night.
“We really want to see collaboration as we bring these on the grid,” Rive said. “Hawaii is in a very special situation as a result of high adoption of solar.”
Rive said HECO customers using SolarCity’s solar-energy system and batteries will see roughly $150 savings on monthly electric bills. A 20-panel solar-powered system with Tesla Powerwall batteries costs about $23,000 before tax credits, Rive said. Solar-powered system owners qualify for a 35 percent state tax credit and 30 percent federal tax credit on their systems.
“After state and federal tax credit (customers) will see about a 15 percent rate of return on their investment,” Rive said. “That is pretty healthy.”
