Noncredit Workshop
Solar Energy: Understanding the Value Proposition for Hawai`i`s Businesses
Event ID: P10516
Info: Oct 22 • Thu • 8:00-11:00am • 1 mtg • UHM Krauss 012 (Yukiyoshi Room) • $50 (General), $40 (Student or Government)
With: Mark Duda
Many businesses chose to "go solar" in 2008. For most, despite the obvious appeal of being perceived as "green," these decisions had to make financial sense in a context where, although the energy is free, the up-front investment needed to capture it is substantial. This course reveals the various ways that investments in solar energy make good business sense and how solar systems, which last for 25 years or more, pay for themselves in five years or less. The course reviews advantages and limitations of various state and federal tax incentives, discusses the different financing mechanisms, and examines business models that reduce and hedge operating costs.
Mark Duda is a founding partner with Distributed Energy Partners, LLC, Hawai‘i`s premier renewable energy design-build firm. (www.dephawaii.com). He is also president of the Hawai‘i Solar Energy Association, a board member of the Hawai‘i PV Coalition, a member of the Hawai‘i Energy Policy Forum, and a member of the Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative Energy Efficiency Working Group. In these roles he is a participant in legislative and regulatory efforts to expand the supply of renewable energy in Hawai‘i. Prior to focusing on energy issues, Mark was a consultant specializing in housing and mortgage market issues and a research analyst at Harvard University`s Joint Center for Housing Studies.