LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative is one of the nation’s Top 10 utilities for delivery of solar energy to its customers. The Solar Electric Power Association on Tuesday ranked KIUC as No. 2 on a list of electric utilities
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative is one of the nation’s Top 10 utilities for delivery of solar energy to its customers.
The Solar Electric Power Association on Tuesday ranked KIUC as No. 2 on a list of electric utilities that have added the most new solar power to their systems on a watts-per-customer basis in 2012. SEPA is a Washington, D.C.,-based educational nonprofit organization that helps utilities integrate solar power into their energy portfolios.
“We’re gratified to be recognized as an industry leader in the development of solar,” said David J. Bissell, president and CEO of KIUC. “Our team is still hard at work getting us to our next milestone, which is using solar energy to meet 50 percent of our daytime demand.”
The annual ranking identifies the companies that are most quickly integrating solar into the nation’s power grid. It is part of the sixth annual Utility Solar Rankings, part of a report to be released in May.
KIUC is ranked highest among electric utilities in Hawai‘i for adding new solar on a watts-per-customer basis. It is first among U.S. electrical cooperatives included in the SEPA rankings for adding new solar.
KIUC has added 282 watts of solar per customer on the grid with the addition of a 6-megawatt McBryde Solar facility at Port Allen in 2012, and nearly 3 megawatts from customer-sited photovoltaic systems. That is the equivalent of about one solar panel installed last year for each one of the cooperative’s 28,000 residential customers, according to KIUC.
“This is great news, and we are making big strides as an island in our transition to renewable energy,” said Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. “As the cost of fossil fuels continue to rise, we all feel the urgency to become fully self-reliant and green in our energy usage.
“Congratulations to KIUC and all of its member-owners on this tremendous achievement.”
Hawaiian Electric Co. ranked fourth for new solar watts per customer, while Maui Electric Co. ranked sixth, and Hawai‘i Electric Light Co. ranked 12th.
“In 2012, new installations resulted in almost 1,500 megawatts of additional new solar connected to the grid, a doubling in new solar capacity from two years ago,” said Julia Hamm, president and CEO of SEPA. “Both the number of systems and the amount of new capacity make solar electricity the fastest growing electric source in the U.S. in 2012.”
