Report Title:

Solar Energy Devices; Installation; New Construction

Description:

Allows for the installation of solar energy devices on any single-family residential dwelling or townhouse owned by an individual, with limited restrictions; requires solar panel hot water system, or comparable system for new construction of dwelling units. (SD1)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2969

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

S.D. 1


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to solar energy devices.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

PART I

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that when section 196-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), was enacted, a prohibition on the installation of solar energy devices under section 514A-89, HRS, was not correspondingly amended to allow for the exceptions provided for in section 196-7, HRS.

The purpose of this Act is to allow owners of single-family residential dwellings and townhouses to install solar energy devices and rectify conflicts in existing statutes by clarifying that chapter 196-7 shall supersede chapter 514A-89.

SECTION 2. Section 196-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§196-7[]] Placement of solar energy devices. (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no person shall be prevented by any covenant, declaration, bylaws, restriction, deed, lease, term, provision, condition, codicil, [or] contract, or similar binding agreement, however worded, from installing a solar energy device on any single-family residential dwelling or townhouse that the person owns. Any provision in any lease, instrument, or contract contrary to the intent of this section shall be void[.] and unenforceable.

[(b) For the purposes of this section, "solar energy device" means any identifiable facility, equipment, apparatus, or the like, including a photovoltaic cell application, that is applicable to a single-family residential dwelling or townhouse and makes use of solar energy for heating, cooling, or reducing the use of other types of energy dependent upon fossil fuel for generation.]

(b) The provisions of subsection (a) shall supersede all other contrary provisions in the Hawaii Revised Statutes, including but not limited to section 514A-89, regardless of the legal form of the private entity in which any single-family dwelling or townhouse is situated.

(c) Every private entity shall adopt rules by June 30, 2005 that provide for the placement of solar energy devices. The rules shall facilitate the placement of solar energy devices and shall not unduly or unreasonably restrict such placement so as to render the device more than twenty-five per cent less efficient or to increase the cost of the device by more than fifteen per cent. No private entity shall assess, charge, or otherwise cause any homeowner to pay any fees for placement of any solar energy device.

(d) Any person may place a solar energy device on any single-family residential dwelling or townhouse unit owned by that person without prior approval from any private entity; provided that the person shall register that device with the private entity of record, if any, within a reasonable time period.

(e) The owner of any single-family residential dwelling or townhouse unit for which a solar energy device is placed on a common element or limited common element, is responsible for any costs for damages to the device, the common elements, limited common elements, and any adjacent units, arising or resulting from the installation, maintenance, repair, removal, or replacement of the device.

(f) For the purposes of this section:

"Private entity" means any association of homeowners, community association, condominium association, cooperative, or any other non-governmental entity to which a homeowner is subject to compliance with covenants, bylaws, and administrative provisions of that private entity;

"Solar energy device" means any identifiable facility, equipment, apparatus, or the like, including a photovoltaic cell application, that is applicable to a single-family residential dwelling or townhouse and makes use of solar energy for heating, cooling, or reducing the use of other types of energy dependent upon fossil fuel for generation; provided that "solar energy device" shall not include skylights or windows;

"Townhouse" has the same meaning as defined in section 502C-1."

SECTION 3. Section 514A-89, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"514A-89 Certain work prohibited. No apartment owner shall do any work which could jeopardize the soundness or safety of the property, reduce the value thereof, or impair any easement or hereditament, nor may any apartment owner add any material structure or excavate any additional basement or cellar, without in every such case the consent of seventy-five per cent of the apartment owners, together with the consent of all apartment owners whose apartments or limited common elements appurtenant thereto are directly affected, being first obtained; provided that nonmaterial structural additions to the common elements, including, without limitation, [the installation of solar energy devices, or] additions to or alterations of an apartment made within such apartment or within a limited common element appurtenant to and for the exclusive use of the apartment shall require approval only by the board of directors of the association of apartment owners and such percentage, number, or group of apartment owners as may be required by the declaration or bylaws. "Nonmaterial structural additions to the common elements", as used in this section, means a structural addition to the common elements which does not jeopardize the soundness or safety of the property, reduce the value thereof, impair any easement or hereditament, detract from the appearance of the project, interfere with or deprive any nonconsenting owner of the use or enjoyment of any part of property, or directly affect any nonconsenting owner. The installation of solar energy devices shall be allowed pursuant to section 196-7. For purposes of this section, "solar energy device" means any new identifiable facility, equipment, apparatus, or the like which makes use of solar energy for heating, cooling, or reducing the use of other types of energy dependent upon fossil fuel for its generation; provided that if the equipment sold cannot be used as a solar device without its incorporation with other equipment, it must be installed in place and ready to be made operational in order to qualify as a "solar energy device"[.]; and provided further that "solar energy device" shall not include skylights or windows. "Townhouse", as used in this section, has the same meaning as defined in section 502C-1."

PART II

SECTION 4. Chapter 196, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§196-   Energy efficient water heating for new construction. (a) All newly constructed dwelling units shall be equipped with a primary hot water system:

(1) Comprised of a conventional solar panel hot water

system, or a system at least as energy efficient as a

conventional solar panel hot water system, as

certified by an appropriately licensed architect or

general contractor, solar water heater contractor, or

plumber;

(2) Sized to meet at least eighty per cent of the hot

water demand for the respective dwelling unit, as

certified by an appropriately licensed architect or

general contractor, solar water heater contractor, or

plumber; and

(3) Whose function may be supported by a less energy

efficient heating system such as gas or an electrical

resistance water heater, which is used only as a

secondary heating system or sized to meet no more than

twenty per cent of the hot water demand for the

respective dwelling unit, as certified by an

appropriately licensed architect or general

contractor, solar water heater contractor, or plumber.

(b) Covenants, conditions, and restrictions governing new residential developments shall not prohibit the installation of solar roof panels.

(c) This section shall not apply to new dwelling units constructed in areas receiving three-hundred calories per square centimeter a day or less of solar radiation, as identified by the department of business, economic development, and tourism's solar insolation maps."

SECTION 5. Section 196-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Dwelling unit" means a room or rooms connected together, constituting an independent housekeeping unit for a family and containing a kitchen."

SECTION 6. The public utilities commission shall amend its utility rules and requirements to exclude new residential construction from any rebates, and shall report to the legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2004 regular session on the actions taken pursuant to this section.

PART III

SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided Part II of this Act shall take effect on July 1, 2006.