If energy costs factor into your decision to invest in Maui real estate, you may find yourself encouraged by the runaway success of Hawaii Energy, the state’s energy and efficiency program. Funded by ratepayers, Hawaii Energy just had its highest level of energy savings in its eight years of history. The surprising part? Its most recent program year also involved a 20 percent budget cut, compared to the year before.
If you look at the numbers, the program delivered a whopping 35 percent increase in energy savings, despite the 20 percent drop in its budget, which resulted in a 41 percent reduction in cost per lifetime kWh (kilowatt-hour). That’s something to be proud of, and ratepayers can look forward to more of the same in the future as the state continues to pursue its 100 percent clean energy goal.
The organization releases an annual report for each program year, and the latest was for 2016. The report calculated a reduction of 141 million kilowatt-hours from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017. That contributed to the total of 1.76 billion kWh saved in the lifetime of the program. According to Hawaii Energy, this last cycle of savings was the equivalent of energy that would be produced by a 90 megawatt solar farm.
According to Hawaii Energy Executive Director Brian Kealoha, the families and businesses participating in Hawaii Energy programs contribute to around $440 million in savings over the life of their installed energy efficiency measures. He also pointed out that those millions remain within Hawaii, stimulating the local economy. Governor David Ige lauded the success of Hawaii Energy, and its success throughout his term in office.
If energy efficiency is on your list of priorities while shopping for Maui real estate, you’ll find that an overwhelming percentage of homes and condos are fitted with photovoltaic systems, among many other modifications that contribute to saving energy. If you need our assistance finding listings that meet your criteria, you’ll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. We would be happy to put our expertise to work for you! Mahalo!