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SB2327
THE SENATE
S.B. NO.
2327
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to renewable energy
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION 1.
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The legislature finds that Act 97, Session
Laws of Hawaii 2015, requires electric utilities in the State to achieve a one
hundred per cent renewable portfolio standard by December 31, 2045, to
transition the State away from imported fossil fuels and toward locally
available renewable energy sources.
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The
legislature further finds that to encourage the timely build-out of a diverse,
resilient, and reliable portfolio of low-cost renewable energy generation and
storage assets, Hawaii must lower the administrative barriers that constrain
deployment of residential and commercial-scale distributed energy resources.
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The legislature notes that on January 27,
2025, the governor signed executive order No. 25-01 (Accelerating Hawai
ʻ
i's
Transition Toward 100 Percent Renewable Energy), which, among other things,
calls for establishing programs for same-day online permit issuance of all
single-family residential homes, self-certification permitting for all townhome
projects twenty kilowatts and under, and professional self-certification for permitting
behind-the-meter customer-sited solar, energy storage, and energy efficiency
measures for commercial and multi-family condominium projects.
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The
legislature further finds that existing permitting processes can add
substantial time and cost to the adoption of residential solar and energy
storage projects and that online permitting tools such as the United States
Department of Energy's SolarAPP+ have been successfully implemented by hundreds
of government entities that issue building permits throughout the nation.
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The legislature finds that Hawaii's
permit-issuing government entities should similarly take advantage of these
tools to help meet the State's clean energy, reliability, and resilience needs.
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Accordingly,
t
he purpose of this Act is to reduce administrative barriers to the
deployment of energy generation and storage technology systems by:
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(1)
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Requiring government entities in the
State that issue building permits to implement SolarAPP+, or a functionally
equivalent online automated permitting platform, that processes and issues
permits to licensed contractors for solar distributed energy resource systems
in real time by January 1, 2027; and
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(2)
�
Requiring government entities in the
State that issue building permits in areas served by an investor-owned electric
utility to adopt a self-certification process for solar distributed energy
resource systems that are not SolarAPP+ compatible.
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SECTION
2.
�
Chapter 196, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
is amended by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to
read as follows:
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"
�196-A
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Building permits; issuing entities;
adoption of online automated permitting platform;
s
olar distributed energy resource systems
.
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(a)
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Any government entity in the State that
issues building permits shall:
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(1)
�
By January 1, 2027, implement
SolarAPP+ or a functionally equivalent online automated permitting platform
that processes and issues permits to licensed contractors for solar distributed
energy resource systems in real time; provided that the government entity shall
adopt a self-certification process pursuant to section 196‑B for solar
distributed energy resource systems that are not compatible with SolarAPP+, or
a functional online equivalent, at the time the permit application is submitted
to the government entity;
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(2)
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Notify the Hawaii state energy
office when it achieves compliance with the requirements of paragraph (1); and
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(3)
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Submit annual notifications of its
compliance with the requirements of paragraph (1) to the Hawaii state energy
office.
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(b)
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In issuing building permits in compliance
with subsection (a), the applicable government entity in the State may promote
the use of labor standards, including but not limited to living wages,
benefits, and requirements for participation in state-approved apprenticeship
programs.
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(c)
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As used in this section:
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"SolarAPP+"
means the web-based portal and associated software tools developed by the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, as updated from time to time.
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"Solar
distributed energy resource system" means an assembly of solar
energy-generating or energy-storing materials, or any combined assembly of
solar energy-generating and energy-storing materials, and the related
infrastructure necessary for its operation.
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�196-B
�
Adoption of self-certification for solar distributed
energy resource systems; permit; approval; notice.
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(a)
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Any government entity in the State that issues building permits in any
area of the State served by an investor-owned electric utility shall establish
a self-certification process for residential and commercial on-site solar
distributed energy resource systems that deems permit applications approved and
allows applicants to proceed to build immediately; provided that
the government entity receives written notice
from
:
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(1)
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The project owner, or an agent of
the project owner, that the owner or agent requests issuance of the permit and
is prepared to pay any required fees; and
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(2)
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The duly licensed architect, duly
licensed engineer, duly licensed electrician, or duly licensed plumber, as
applicable, who intends to install the solar distributed energy resource system
that the installation of the system complies with all applicable codes and
laws.
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(b)
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A permit application or self-certification
for a solar distributed energy resource system shall not require submission of
an approved materials and methods number; provided that the following are submitted
with the license holder's written notification pursuant to subsection (a):
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(1)
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A manufacturer specification sheet;
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(2)
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An installation and operations
manual; and
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(3)
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A UL or other national testing
laboratory certification.
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(c)
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If the requirements of subsection (a) are
satisfied, the applicable government entity in the State that issues building
permits shall issue the building permit number and close the permit within
thirty days of submittal.
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(d)
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As used in this section, "solar
distributed energy resource system"
has the same meaning as defined in section 196‑A.
"
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SECTION 3.
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In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the
revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the
letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.
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SECTION 4.
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New statutory material is underscored.
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SECTION 5.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Solar
Distributed Energy Resource Systems; Building Permits; Online Automated
Permitting Platform; Self-Certification Process
Description:
Requires
government entities in the State that issue building permits to implement
SolarAPP+ or a functionally equivalent online automated permitting platform
that verifies code compliance and issues permits to licensed contractors for
solar distributed energy resource systems in real-time by 1/1/2027. Requires
government entities in the State that issue building permits in areas served by
an investor-owned electric utility to adopt a self-certification process for
solar distributed energy resource systems that are not SolarAPP+ compatible.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.