The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection on March 11, 2025.
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March 11, 2025, 9 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 325 and Videoconference
To: House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection
Rep. Nicole Lowen, Chair
Rep. Amy Perruso, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: SB588 SD2 — RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY
Aloha Chair Lowen, Vice-Chair Perruso and other members of the Committee,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports SB588 SD2, which would require that each county establish a self-certification process for the approval of certain solar energy systems and change certain flood zone rules for solar energy systems.
Self-certification programs allow qualified architects and engineers to approve permits without review from county building departments. Mandating that self-certification be an option for individuals looking to install solar panels on their homes or businesses would streamline the process.
As Grassroot identified in its 2024 report “Seven low-cost ways to speed up permitting in Hawaii,” solar applications often make up a large part of county building permit reviews. According to the report:
Obtaining building permits to install new solar panels and solar-plus-storage systems can be a lengthy process. This is due in part to the sheer volume of building permits filed for solar panels. In Hawai‘i County, for example, almost one-third of permits issued between November 2024 and March 2024 — about 1,300 — were for residential solar panels. During that time, Hawai‘i County had an average approval time of 33 days for residential solar projects, provided the permits were not returned to the applicants for corrections. Non-residential solar permits had a 45-day average approval time.[1]
Honolulu County already offers a self-certification process and an online permitting tool for solar panels; however, the county’s implementation has hit a few snags and is not yet as fast as it could be. Still, Honolulu has been issuing solar permits faster than other building permits.
For example, between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, 47% of the Honolulu permits issued were tagged as “solar” or “solarPVinstallation.” The wait time for these permits, from application to issuance, averaged 38 days, compared to 239 for all other Honolulu permits.[2]
The Honolulu City Council adopted a self-certification process for solar projects in 2024,[3] so the other counties will have a model to follow if this bill, SB588, advances.
SB588 would also exempt solar energy systems from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s No-Rise/No-Impact rules for flood zones, subject to certain limitations.
These flood-zone rules are intended to discourage construction in areas with higher flood risks; however, there is no reason solar panels on a home in a flood zone would increase the home’s risk for flooding, so an exemption makes sense.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Jonathan Helton, “Seven low-cost ways to speed up permitting in Hawaii,” Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, October 2024, p. 7.
[2] Calculations performed using: “Building Permits – January 1, 2005 through June 30, 2024,” Data.gov, July 13, 2024.
[3] Honolulu City and County Ordinance 24-30.
