HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

156

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

requesting the department of business, economic development, and tourism to study the potential for photovoltaic tax credits.

 

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, renewable resources are abundant, with plentiful amounts of wind, sun, and geothermal activity to fuel renewable efforts; and

WHEREAS, the current political climate around the world dictates a shift from dependence on imported fossil fuels to one of self-reliance and sustainability; and

WHEREAS, tax credits for solar water heating have been effective in increasing the use of solar water heating equipment; and

WHEREAS, the use of solar water heating equipment has reduced the use of fossil fuels; and

WHEREAS, already, an estimated eighty thousand single family homes, multi-unit dwellings, and institutional facilities in Hawaii are served by solar water heaters; and

WHEREAS, photovoltaic equipment that can effectively provide electrical power to residential homes is now becoming available; and

WHEREAS, photovoltaics, or solar cells, as they are often referred to, are semiconductor devices that convert sunlight into direct current electricity; and

WHEREAS, the use of photovoltaic equipment also has the potential to significantly reduce the use of fossil fuel; and

WHEREAS, state legislation permitting reverse metering has been adopted; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to study increasing the tax credit for the installation and use of photovoltaic equipment for the generation of electricity in residential homes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting the study, the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to describe and assess programs of other states, the credit, if any, now available in Hawaii, the level of credit that would be effective in promoting the use of photovoltaic equipment, and include an estimate of the possible savings of fossil fuel, and implications of the cost of the credit to the state budget; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2005; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, and the Director of Taxation.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Photovoltaic Tax Credit; Study; DBEDT