Hawaiian Electric launched the Battery Bonus Program to pay homeowners with solar + storage for sharing the electricity in their residential batteries during high demand hours. Here’s a breakdown of how it works and some results as of October 2022.
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Batteries are programmed to send power back to the grid every day between 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm. The battery’s stored power is first tapped to meet the needs of the household. After that, the battery sends its leftover power to the grid for use by others.
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After 6 months, nearly 1,800 families have joined the Battery Bonus program.
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Once all the batteries are installed and verified, that will amount to 10 MWh of committed capacity helping the grid each night.
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The goal for the program is to deliver 50 MWh by the summer of 2023.
There are also many additional benefits that come with joining the Battery Bonus Program. Participants receive an $850 per kilowatt ($4,250) upfront bonus when they commit to the program for 10 years. On top of that, they earn a $5 per kilowatt monthly bill credit throughout their participation. That’s another $3,000 in monthly credits over a decade. Lastly, HECO pays retail rate for the electricity exported back to the grid.
In other words, HECO pays for a huge chunk of the total cost of a battery. For a typical 5 kWh home battery that costs $10,000, the program will pay the customer a total of $7,250 over the next ten years. This is also in addition to the new federal tax credit of 30% whether you have a solar system or not!
To learn more about Battery Bonus or other Battery Incentive programs, call our Smart Home Specialists today 808.748.8888 | revolusun.com
Article from CleanTechnica: “Lessons From A Battery Sharing Program In Hawaii — It Isn’t Easy Being Green”
