HONOLULU (KHON2) — Hawaiian Electric (HECO) is accepting applications for a new program that will pay Oahu customers a cash incentive to add energy storage to an existing or new rooftop solar system.

The Battery Bonus program aims to use this one-time incentive to help Hawaii move toward 100% clean energy by 2045 and to add more renewable resources to the grid.

“This one-time offer is an excellent opportunity for new or existing solar customers to enjoy the added benefits of home energy storage, support the grid that serves all customers and move us closer to our 100% clean energy for electricity goal by 2045,” said Yoh Kawanami, Hawaiian Electric co-director of Customer Energy Resources.

The 10-year program is capped by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) at a total 50 megawatts (MW) supplied from storage among all participants.

Incentive payments are:

  • $850 per kilowatt (kW) for those accepted for the first 15MW. (For example, 5kW would yield a $4,250 payment.) HECO will confirm by checking battery data that the system
    is meeting its committed performance in the program for the customer to receive the full amount of incentive.
  • $750 per kW for those accepted for the next 15MW.
  • $500 per kW for those accepted for the last 20MW.

Applications will be accepted through June 23, 2023, or until the cap is reached.

Customers who participate must use and/or export electricity stored in the battery at the contracted amount between 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily (including weekends and holidays) through December 31, 2023. After that date, customers will have the option to transition to the program’s next phase.

To add storage to an existing system or install a new solar-plus-storage system, customers must work with a solar contractor. The solar-plus-storage system owner will receive the incentive after securing a building permit from the City & County Department of Planning and Permitting as part of the submission, which will determine the final amount. To end participation before the 10-year commitment, customers may notify HECO to repay a prorated portion of the incentive.

Since the incentive payment is considered income, HECO will provide customers with tax forms and report information to the IRS and Hawaii Department of Taxation.

Click here to learn more about the program.