HONOLULU (KHON2) — Over $62 million is coming to the islands soon and it could help you get access to solar energy.
The funds are from the Environmental Protection Agency and are going to expand the number of low-income households and disadvantaged communities that can access the affordable, clean energy source. The executive director of the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority, Gwen Yamamoto Lau, stopped by Take2 on Tuesday morning to discuss what the funding can do to help those who are burdened by high electricity costs.
“The objectives are three-fold – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; to benefit low-income households and disadvantaged communities; and to mobilize private capital,” she said. “We plan to leverage the $62.0 million in Federal funds with $25.0 million in state funds and some $30.0 million in private capital.”
Many households that are unable to pay for the basics often face barriers when applying for loans. HGIA says that the program eliminates all credit barriers.
“Unlike traditional lenders, we don’t utilize credit scores. The only eligibility criteria is the applicant must be an underserved ratepayer we define as low and moderate-income homeowners, renters, nonprofits, and small businesses. We rely on the electric utility bill savings to repay our loan, and for added convenience, the loan payment is placed on the HECO, MECO or HELCO utility bills. Up until now, we were only able to finance systems in the Hawaiian Electric territories, but with these funds, we plan to expand our financing to Kauai,” Yamamoto Lau said.
Kauai is the only county in Hawaii that is not tied to HECO’s grid, with the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative operating electricity on the Garden Isle. HGIA has plans for solar for all outside of rooftop solar. Yamamoto Lau says one of the interesting possibilities is community-owned community solar projects.
“The Environmental Protection Agency did an amazing job in designing this nationwide Solar for All program. In addition to loan capital, funds can also be used for internal capacity building, community outreach, workforce development, technical assistance, and financial education. We are also planning to finance community-owned, community solar projects and work with local banks to co-design a credit enhancement program to help solar companies access capital and scale deployment statewide,”