LA Times - Grid Intertie System Can't Handle Surge In Hawaiian Solar Panels

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WAILUKU, Hawaii — On an island whose stock in trade is sun, and lots of it, Lawrence and Cindy Lee figured they'd be foolish not to join their neighbors and put a few solar panels on the roof. The Lees called one of the solar contractors racing around Hawaii these days, and put in their order. Eleven months later, in October — after endless consultations, emails and a $3,000 study required by Maui Electric Co. — they were still waiting for a permit.

"Instead of it being like they want to help you get your solar system in," Lawrence Lee said, "it's more like they don't want you to."

Solar power has grown increasingly popular across the U.S. Sun Belt, but hardly anywhere has it taken hold as it has in Hawaii. Friendly tax credits, the highest average electricity rates in the nation and the most aggressive renewable energy program adopted by any state have sent homeowners scrambling to install photovoltaic systems on their roofs.

The number of solar power systems across the island state has doubled every year since 2007, with nearly 20,000 units installed. But with homeowners and businesses now producing nearly 140 megawatts of their own power — the equivalent of a medium-size power plant — and solar tax credits biting seriously into the state budget, Hawaii legislators and electrical utilities are tapping the brakes.

EDIT

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-hawaii-solar-20121118,0,595680.story

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. I remember bringing up "nonfirm" power issues previously and some posters went into meltdown

In many ways I am lucky. I had one of the first larger solar plants in my area for my utility. New installations are starting to run into problems, including line capacity.

[wtmusic]

2. I doesn't seem like this is unsolvable.

Megacapacitors could smooth line voltage, megaresistors could dump excess power when necessary (pretty much, what the sun was doing before panels existed).

Solar credits will increasingly be spent on these kinds of infrastructure improvements.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. There are any number of infrastructure solutions...they will take time and money

Its a case of engineering resources being required not new science. However, raising those practical issues really tends to upset certain posters.

[wtmusic]

4. Yeah, I noticed.

Isolated from access to energy resources, Hawaii has to ship them in at a high monetary (and environmental) cost. Any tech solution they can work out could be applied to any island or remote location with lots of sun.