Eguana Technologies and E-Gear announced that the Eguana AC Battery with E-Gear’s Energy Management & Control (EMC) technology is the first AC-coupled grid interactive lithium-ion battery system approved by the city and county of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting’s Material and Methods (MM#) expedited approval process. This unlocks the backlog of over 1 MWh of utility connected residential battery installations under contract through E-Gear dealers in Hawaii.
“This process will help continue our cooperation with the industry and the state of Hawaii to achieve the energy independence so important to the community we serve,” said Timothy Hiu, deputy director of the department of planning and permitting. “The mayor’s office has been supportive of industry and we have made a consistent effort to educate our personnel on the highly innovative solar industry, where the technological advances are so rapid that it’s important to establish this type of relationship. The city and county of Honolulu has partnered going back over a decade to accomplish this task and our contribution to the betterment of the state and this city to move toward a more sustainable energy industry will continue.”
“Our customers are demanding products that are available today, and are not interested in just reserving a system for some unknown length of time,” said Tim Johnston, president of Hawaii Energy Smart, an E-Gear technology dealer. “We have been chasing other products for over a year now. Other suppliers just could not deliver product that supports the new solar program, which is necessary for us to maintain our business.”
“We have worked tirelessly with our partners and customers in Hawaii to introduce this solution that enables the next phase of Hawaii’s renewable transition,” said Brent Harris, CTO of Eguana Technologies. “Eguana remains committed to supporting the growth of the Hawaiian market with our AC-coupled solution that is compatible with any PV system already installed or approved for installation in Hawaii. The AC Battery is a proven and fully certified product that supports any of the functionality being considered under the HPUC’s Distributed Energy Resources docket.”
Installations for backlog customers will begin through E-Gear dealers in April, and the pipeline of contracted systems is expected to grow with many customers awaiting demonstration of permitted and operating systems before committing to a purchase.
News item from Eguana