STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 1326
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2023
RE: S.B. No. 781
S.D. 2
H.D. 1
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2023
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Energy & Environmental Protection and Water & Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 781, S.D. 2, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY,"
beg leave to report as follows:
(1) Implement SolarAPP+ or a functionally equivalent online automated permitting platform that verifies code compliance and issues permits to licensed contractors for solar distributed energy resource systems in real time by January 1, 2024; and
(2) Adopt self-certification for solar distributed
energy resource systems that are not SolarAPP+ compatible, under certain
conditions.
Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority; Citizens' Climate Lobby Hawaii; Sierra Club of Hawai‘i; Hawaii Environmental Change Agents' Decarbonization of Buildings Task Force; Hawaii Food Industry Association; Hawaii Unified Industries, LLC; Photonworks Engineering LLP; Alternate Energy Hawaii; Independent Energy Hawaii; Green Power Projects LLC; Solar Services Hawaii LLP; Grand Solar, Inc.; Our Revolution Hawaii; Ulupono Initiative; 350Hawaii.org; Climate Protectors Hawai‘i; Sunnova; Hawaii Energy Connection, LLC; Sunrun; Hawaii Solar Energy Association; Hawai‘i Energy; Tesla; Malama Solar; Kauai Climate Action Coalition; Fortress Power; Pacific Resource Partnership; Blue Planet Foundation; and numerous individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters.
Your Committees find that in order to
transition the State away from imported fossil fuels and toward locally
available renewable energy sources, the administrative barriers that constrain
deployment of residential and commercial-scale distributed energy resources
must be lowered. This measure encourages
the adoption of online permitting tools to help meet the State's clean energy,
reliability, and resilience needs.
Your Committees have amended this measure
by:
(1) Specifying that applicable government entities in the State may promote the use of certain labor standards in issuing building permits for solar distributed energy resource systems;
(2) Clarifying that the self-certification process established by applicable government entities applies to residential and commercial on-site solar distributed energy resource systems;
(3) Specifying that for permit application approval under the self-certification process, a duly licensed architect, duly licensed engineer, or duly licensed plumber is required to notify the applicable government entity in the State that issues building permits that the solar distributed energy resource system complies with all applicable codes and laws;
(4) Adding a definition for "residential distributed energy resource system";
(5) Inserting language that makes the professional engineers,
architects, surveyors, and landscape architects licensure law inapplicable to
work with respect to residential distributed energy resource systems;
(6) Changing the effective date to June 30, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and
(7) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Energy & Environmental Protection and Water & Land that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 781, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 781, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Energy & Environmental Protection and Water & Land,
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____________________________ LINDA ICHIYAMA, Chair |
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____________________________ NICOLE E. LOWEN, Chair |
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