Hawaiʻi Green Infrastructure Authority

Updates to the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority’s (“HGIA” or Authority”) financing programs effective July 1, 2023, including the Authority’s ability to finance energy storage systems as well as program enhancements approved by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (“PUC”):

     1. Solar PV + Storage Financing: 

Governor Green signed Act 164, SLH 2023 into law on June 30, 2023, providing HGIA an additional $50.0 million in loan capital to finance solar PV + storage systems for LMI homeowners and renters (single family dwellings and multi-family rental projects).

      2. Expand Applicant Eligibility: 

The PUC approved the Authority’s request to finance all underserved ratepayers, even those with disconnection notices. Instead of the minimum 10% estimated bill savings requirement for systems owned by the ratepayer, a new Tiered Estimated Bill Savings Requirement will be in effect on July 1, 2023. The minimum estimated savings required will be based on the number of disconnection notices received by the ratepayer as follows:

# Disconnection Notices	Tiered Estimated Bill Savings Requirement
0	Minimum 5% Savings
1 – 4	Minimum 10% Savings
5+	Minimum 15% Savings

For investor-owned systems, the minimum estimated savings required remains unchanged at 20%.

     3.Sizing PV Systems to accommodate new Electric Vehicle Load:

The PUC approved the Authority’s request to right-size solar systems for customers planning to purchase/lease an electric vehicle within an upcoming 12-month period, to include the anticipated additional load expected from said electric vehicle. This change will enable ratepayers to utilize the energy generated by the solar system to fuel their electric vehicles.

      4. Bundling Eligible Improvements:

The PUC also approved the Authority’s request to bundle Eligible Improvements to meet the minimum Tiered Estimated Bill Savings Requirement. This will be especially beneficial for certain energy efficiency measures (e.g., HVAC, etc.) to meet the minimum bill savings thresholds, when bundled with solar PV, lighting and/or other eligible improvements.

      5. Access to HGIA’s on-bill repayment mechanism:

The PUC approved the Authority’s request to enable outside capital sources to utilize HGIA’s GEM$ on-bill repayment mechanism for Community Solar and other projects that are not financed with GEMS funds. In these cases, HGIA’s role shall be that of a payment servicer and not of a lender. This pilot will run from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Community Solar and other projects utilizing the on-bill repayment (OBR) mechanism, will still need to meet the minimum Tiered Estimated Bill Savings Requirements.

Following the close of the FY24 fiscal year, the PUC may consider extending this program after reviewing impacts and data for projects utilizing the OBR mechanism but not financed with GEMS funds.

     6. Change in General Email Address:

To better reflect the Authority’s different funding sources and expanded program suite, effective immediately HGIA’s general email address shall be: [email protected]. Please update your records accordingly.

Should you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact:

• Residential Projects: Leatrice Galicinao, Program & Administrative Officer at [email protected] or 808-587-3829; or
• Commercial Projects: Nhu-An Tran, Managing Director at [email protected] or 808-587-3821