LIHU‘E — Following a failed attempt earlier this year to have the state Senate address a loophole in a state law, which mandates new homes to be fitted with solar water heating systems, the Kaua‘i County Council is now discussing
LIHU‘E — Following a failed attempt earlier this year to have the state Senate address a loophole in a state law, which mandates new homes to be fitted with solar water heating systems, the Kaua‘i County Council is now discussing whether to ask state lawmakers in the 2013 Legislature to amend Act 204 to bring it closer to its intent.
The item in question in Wednesday’s council agenda was a request from Councilman KipuKai Kuali‘i — who was absent at the meeting — for council approval to include in the 2013 Hawai‘i State Association of Counties Legislative Package a proposal to address a variance in Act 204 that is allowing a significant number or new homes on Kaua‘i to be built with tankless gas water heaters rather than solar water heaters.
But with Kuali‘i’s absence, the remaining six members of the council could not agree on the request: A 3-3 tie pushed the decision to a future meeting.
County records show that 210 out of the 320 single-family dwellings built on Kaua‘i were fitted with tankless gas water heaters since the law went into effect on Jan. 1, 2010.
“This bill was supposed to be a mandate, that’s why … the tax credits for solar water heating … have been removed by the state, and yet this is not a mandate, because 60 percent of the new houses on Kaua‘i are not being built having solar (water heater),” said Council Vice Chair JoAnn Yukimura, referring to previously offered state tax exemptions for those installing solar water heating systems in their new homes.
“Either we make it a full mandate by closing the loophole and still giving choice, or we should just do away with this bill and restore the tax credits from the state,” Yukimura said. “Except that the state will say ‘It’s a much more expensive way to do it than to do it based on individual investment, which pays off by individual savings,’ and that was the decision of the state Legislature, except for this loophole that was designed for special business.”
Act 204, passed by the Legislature in 2008 and signed by former Gov. Linda Lingle on June 26, 2008, states that after Jan. 1, 2010, no building permit shall be issued for single-family dwellings that does not include a solar water heater system. But the act also allows for homes to be built with tankless gas water heating systems in a few instances, such as not having enough sunlight, special financial situations and the use of some other approved alternative renewable energy. The act’s fourth variance allows builders to choose an approved tankless gas water heating if at least one other gas appliance is installed in the unit.
The proposal the council is considering sending to the 2013 Legislature would amend the state law to narrow the decision of fitting new homes with solar or tankless gas water heating systems to be made only by end owners. In case a new home is built as a rental or a turn-key unit, the default choice would be a solar water heater system.
The initial investment of a tankless gas water heater is cheaper than a solar water heater system. But over the life cycle of both systems, an efficient solar water heater is more economically viable than a tankless gas water heater system.
Councilwoman Nadine Nakamura had concerns on what would happen if she had some land and decided to build a rental home on it. Her tenant, the one paying the electric bill, may or may not be there after three months, but still would be the one making the decision on whether she would have to install a solar water heater or a tankless gas water heater.
Kapa‘a resident Lonnie Sykos said it would be legally impossible — and unconstitutional — to tell someone they have to live in the house they are building.
Councilman Mel Rapozo, opposing to the request, questioned when government will stop regulating what citizens must or can do.
Nakamura said she is aware of the “huge variance” on Kaua‘i, but questioned what has been done in the last year to educate architects and developers on the issue.
“I never heard any attempts to have that conversation,” said Nakamura, adding that she was also concerned with Rapozo’s comments on freedom of choice. “Where do we draw that line?”
Council Chair Jay Furfaro said if the council wants to “walk the talk” it could offer incentives to those installing solar water heating systems. Doing a quick math, he said if the county offers $750 to each of the average 90 homes built on Kaua‘i annually, it would pay off a total of $67,500.
“That’s something we could do,” Furfaro said.
Officials from The Gas Company spoke against sending the request to the Legislature, saying it would undermine a project to bring liquefied natural gas to the Islands. LNG emits 40 percent less carbon dioxide than diesel oil, the primary source of generating electricity on the islands, according to Joe Boivin, Senior Vice President of The Gas Company. The prospect of bringing LNG to the islands has “widespread support,” he said.
Boivin presented a scenario in which a developer would be forced to install solar water heaters in a certain development, and would not have the economic justification to install gas infrastructure, preventing the community from having cheaper electricity.
“Then you have to make the arguments to the developer, but not ask a public policy change to change just so that The Gas Company can get more business,” Yukimura said.
A petition signed by 86 people asking to drop the request, and circulated by Furfaro among council members, turned out to be sent by Cheryl Lienfua, an employee at The Gas Company.
Statewide stats
Besides Kaua‘i, the Big Island has also experienced a significant number of new homes built with tankless gas water heaters, while on O‘ahu and Maui that number has been kept low by comparison, although the number of variances on Maui has been steadily growing.
The variance has allowed an average of 65.4 percent of single-family homes built on Kaua‘i since 2010 to be equipped with tankless gas water heaters.
In 2010, there were 93 out of 147, or 63.27 percent, of new homes built with tankless gas water heaters. In 2011, the actual number of homes built with such systems decreased, but the percentage swelled to 70 percent: There were 70 out 100 new single-family homes built on Kaua‘i utilizing the variance. In the first six months of 2012, there were 47 out of 73, or 64.38 percent, of new homes built with the variance.
By comparison, an average of 5.27 percent of new single-family homes on O‘ahu have utilized the variance since 2010. And each year since 2010 the percentage of new homes equipped with tankless gas water heaters keeps dropping. In 2010, 6.25 percent of new homes utilized the variance; in 2011, 5.39 percent utilized it; and in the first six months of 2012, 3.75 percent of homes utilized it.
On Maui, the variance has been used 12.08 percent on average since 2010. Unlike of what’s happening on O‘ahu, on Maui the number of variances has been growing in the last few years.
That number was 3.26 percent in 2010, 17.65 percent in 2011, and 21.67 percent in the first six months of 2012.
On the Big Island, the variance has allowed an average of 51.5 percent of homes built since 2010 to be equipped with tankless gas water heaters rather than solar water heaters.
The number of variances is also steadily increasing there: It was 47.19 percent in 2011, 51.54 percent in 2011, and 60.39 percent in the first six months of 2012.
On a roll call vote, Yukimura and Councilman Tim Bynum voted to approve the request.
Council members Dickie Chang, Nakamura and Rapozo opposed to it.
Furfaro was the last council member to vote. He said he would vote “yes” to tie the decision and force the request to come back on the council’s agenda in a couple of weeks as a special order of the day — when Kuali‘i will add a decisive vote — so Furfaro would have enough time to gather information on the reasons behind the high number of variances utilized on Kaua‘i.
Last year the council approved sending the Legislature a similar request to be considered in this year’s session.
The request made it through one Senate committee but failed to progress. Prior to sending the request to the Senate, the council had considered sending a request to eliminate the fourth variance altogether, but the proposal was defeated by the full council by a 2-5 vote.
