Mike Deweert is a scientist and chief technology officer for a national defense firm in Hawai'i.

He and his wife, Mary, want to become energy independent. They are installing a new photovoltaic system in their home in Kailua. They like solar instead of wind because it's silent and it doesn't block your view.

What was Mike's experience like? Was it good enough to suggest that we should all be doing this?

DEVELOPING THE PLAN

Mike began the project last April. Because of oil, HECO rates were at 31 cents per kilowatt-hour. He had solar ventilation fans and his windows were built to catch the trades, so he rarely used his air conditioning. His energy requirements are modest, at 16 kwh per day.

After looking at various solar contractors, he hired Suntech Hawai'i. Their price was midrange and he liked their style. After they installed a solar water heater, his requirements went down to 14 kwh to cover his lights and appliances. His electric bills were still $150 per month, so the next step was to install PV on the roof.

He has a small roof, so he chose high capacity SunPower monocrystalline silicon PV panels. They put out 225 watts on a clear day. Conditions are not always ideal, so the best he could expect is 1.3 kwh for a summer day and 0.8 kwh in winter. Using the average, the house needed 12.5 panels. Given Kailua's cloud cover, he ordered 14 panels and the necessary DC-AC inverter at an installed price of $29,000.

At HECO's current rate of 21 cents per kilowatt-hour, it will take eight years to amortize this $29,000. The more HECO's rates increase, the more money Mike saves. These savings, with the federal and state tax credits, take him over the tipping point. To maximize those credits, he broke the installation into two phases, one for six panels in 2008 and one for eight panels in 2009. See www.pvwatts.com for PV planning calculations.

GRATIFICATION GALORE

Mike's total out-of-pocket costs after tax credits was $13,000. If HECO's rate had stayed at 31 cents, he would have made an annual return on his investment of 11 percent over the 25-year warranty period. That return is proportionate to HECO's rate, so when the rate increases his return gets more favorable. His electric bills have dropped to $70 per month in summer and $85 in winter.

The average family might have trouble fronting a $29,000 cash payment and then waiting for $16,000 in tax credits. It's better if they're able to bundle the up-front payment into their mortgage. And carpe diem on these credits — they can change any time. Even now, there are bills in the Legislature to change them.

When phase 2 is done, Mike expects his electric meter to spin backward and send excess power to HECO all year long. Under the net metering program, HECO gets this excess for free. Can Mike get HECO to pay him for this excess under the forthcoming feed-in tariff? What will HECO have to pay for power at what times of day? The PUC will have to decide.

If lots of residential producers like Mike produce excess power, HECO will have a problem using it because solar power is not "firm" continuous power. HECO has no ability to store it for use at another time. When HECO develops a smarter grid or a storage system, it'll be able to use more power from producers like Mike.

PHASE 3 COMING

Going forward, he also wants an electric car and his own storage system for 24-hour power.

To be able to charge an electric car, he will need seven more panels. Those will cost him $10,000 installed. With those panels, he'll be using almost all the capacity of his inverter. Another inverter will cost $4,000.

In the blackout last month, Mike went down right alongside HECO. He didn't have enough panels and he didn't have any storage for the power he was generating. As a result, he didn't have enough continuous power to run his house. His inverter went down to protect the system, just like HECO. This could be avoided if he had a storage system.

For his storage system, Mike is waiting for a breakthrough in vanadium batteries. They have no memory effect, are nontoxic and will cost about $5,000, far less than the $20,000 he would have to spend for lead acid or lithium batteries. Another promising possibility is ultra capacitors. Bets are that an acceptable solution will emerge in the next three years.

CUTTING THE CORD

Once Mike has finished phase 3, he could disconnect from the grid and rely on his PV and storage system. If the $800 million cost of the undersea cable is going to fall on utility ratepayers, he might think about getting off the grid to avoid being assessed for that cost.

Whether Mike disconnects will also depend on how the PUC sets up the Feed-in Tariff, which could allow him to get a regular income by selling his excess to HECO. If he can get a monthly check, he'd want to stay connected. He may also want to stay connected for backup in case his system fails.

Perhaps the best way to energy security is through grassroots renewable "distributed" energy units like Mike's, in lieu of larger ones. But if a residential producer goes off the grid, HECO loses a ratepayer. One way for HECO to avoid that is to make it easier for them to sell their power. After all, buying power from renewable producers is a lot easier than building more power plants.

FREEDOM ON A ROLL

Mike's project is the kind of residential infrastructure we should be building for a better energy community. When builders, homeowners and mortgagees start treating solar panels as essential as indoor plumbing, we'll be on our way to energy independence for everyone.

Mike is ahead of most of us. He'll get decades of energy for his investment, and once he's installed his storage system he won't need to worry about blackouts. He's reduced his carbon footprint and increased the state's energy security.

Mike has weaned himself off oil dependence. He's at peace with the environment and is supporting federal and state energy initiatives. His neighbors think he's a great guy, his employer is impressed with his commitment, and Mary thinks he's a genius, although she felt the same way before.

Mike is right. Hawai'i is an absolutely fabulous place for residential solar. It's also a great place for business solar, solar research and the development of a leading-edge solar industry. We should all start thinking more like he does.

Jay Fidell is a business lawyer practicing in Honolulu. He has followed tech and tech policy closely and is a founder of ThinkTech Hawaii. Check out his blog at www.HonoluluAdvertiser.com/Blogs