HB513 expands Hawaii’s renewable energy technologies income tax credit to encourage the addition of battery storage to solar photovoltaic systems. The bill keeps the existing credit structure for solar and wind systems, but adds a new category for existing solar energy systems that are retrofitted to include battery storage, allowing a credit equal to 35% of actual cost or $500,000 per system, whichever is less. The new credit would apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.
The bill’s findings emphasize Hawaii’s very high electricity prices, reliability concerns, and the state’s strong rooftop solar adoption, framing battery storage as a way to help consumers better manage energy use and reduce dependence on the grid. It also preserves the current treatment of larger solar projects and pumped hydroelectric storage projects, while leaving the wind credit unchanged. The measure is primarily a tax incentive bill, not a direct spending program, and it operates through the state income tax system for individual and corporate taxpayers.
Impact
HB513 would amend section 235-12.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by adding battery-storage retrofits of existing solar systems as an eligible renewable energy technology for the state income tax credit. This would expand the class of projects that can claim the credit beginning with taxable years after December 31, 2025, potentially reducing state tax revenue while lowering the net cost of adding storage to existing solar installations. The bill affects individual and corporate taxpayers, as well as partnerships, S corporations, estates, and trusts that install eligible systems in Hawaii.
Sentiment
The available context suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill, or at least toward its policy goal of improving grid resilience and encouraging battery storage. The bill’s findings and report title frame it as a response to high electricity costs and reliability issues, and there is no recorded committee testimony or vote history showing opposition in the provided materials. Its referral to multiple committees indicates it was still in the early legislative process at the time of the last action.
Contention
The main policy question raised by the bill is whether the state should extend tax incentives to retrofits of existing solar systems, which would broaden the credit and increase fiscal exposure. Potential points of contention include the cost to the state treasury, whether the credit should favor battery storage over other energy investments, and whether the $500,000 per-system cap is appropriate. The bill also preserves prior limits on large solar projects and continues existing rules for wind and other renewable systems, so any debate would likely center on the new battery-storage eligibility rather than the broader credit structure.