SB588 SD1

SECTION 1. 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.

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.

The legislature further finds that the permitting review process currently adds substantial time and cost to the adoption of residential solar and energy storage projects and that self-certification by duly licensed design professionals can significantly reduce this time, cost, and administrative burden without sacrificing public health and safety.

The purpose of this Act is to reduce administrative barriers to the deployment of energy generation and storage technology systems by requiring certain government entities in the State to implement permit self-certification and streamlined, common-sense permitting processes, thereby ensuring efficient, standardized permitting and inspection for behind‑the-meter, customer-sited solar distributed energy resource systems.

SECTION 2. Chapter 196, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§196- Self-certification; solar projects; energy storage projects. (a) By , each government entity in the State that issues building permits shall establish an efficient and standardized self‑certification process for behind‑the‑meter, customer‑sited solar distributed energy resource systems that deems permit applications approved and allows applicants to proceed to build the solar distributed energy resource system immediately; provided that:

(1) The solar distributed energy resource system project is not located on a property within a special flood hazard area as identified on Federal Emergency Management Agency's current Flood Insurance Rate Maps; and

(2) The government entity receives from the project owner or agent of the project owner:

(A) A copy of any written notification prepared by the appropriate government entity, in response to a request for determination from the project owner or agent of the project owner, that the proposed project is not required to comply with federal, state, or county floodplain management development standards, ordinances, codes, statutes, rules, or regulations pursuant to the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program;

(B) A request for issuance of the permit that includes a statement that the owner or agent of the owner is prepared to pay any required fees; and

(C) Proof of a valid license in the respective field for any professional installing the project and confirmation that the installation of the project will comply with all applicable codes and laws.

(b) The self-certification process shall allow a project's relevant professionals to conduct permit reviews and inspections using commercially available software and the professionals' approvals shall be accepted without additional documentation; provided that the submitted documentation demonstrates compliance with all applicable codes and laws. In addition, the self-certification process shall allow a project's relevant design professionals to utilize offline field reports for inspections to ensure faster reviews without added cost or delays.

(c) If the requirements of subsection (a) and (b) 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 after the date that the application was submitted.

(d) As used in this section:

"Offline field report" means a report that uses photos and videos taken of the project on site and submitted to a permitting authority to allow inspection remotely and asynchronously.

"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.

§196- Solar distributed energy resource systems; No‑Rise/No‑Impact declaration requirements. (a) Any government entity in the State that issues building permits shall exempt behind-the-meter, customer-sited solar distributed energy resource systems from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's No-Rise/No-Impact declaration requirements; provided that the project is not located within a regulatory floodway as identified on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's current Flood Insurance Rate Maps.

(b) Each government entity in the State that issues building permits shall develop Federal Emergency Management Agency-accepted guidance for determining specific conditions when a No-Rise Certification is not required for a solar distributed energy resource system located in a regulatory floodway as identified on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's current Flood Insurance Rate Maps.

(1) Comply with all applicable codes and laws;

(2) Properly install the system on an already existing structure; and

(3) Not create additional obstruction within the regulatory floodway."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	588
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII