City and County of Honolulu - Real Property Tax Exemption for Renewable Energy Property

Your renewable energy system—including solar panels, solar water heaters, wind turbines, or other qualifying technologies—is exempt from real property taxes on Honolulu property. If you generate energy primarily for your own use, the entire system value is exempt; if you sell power to the utility under a contract, 80% of the land value used for energy production or storage is also exempt. Submit a claim to activate the exemption, which continues as long as your power purchase agreement remains in effect.

You can offer customers a significant tax incentive when installing renewable energy systems on Honolulu residential, commercial, or industrial properties. The tax exemption applies to the full system cost for self-use projects and to 80% of land value for grid-export projects with utility contracts. Inform customers that the exemption claim must be filed and that it persists for the duration of any power purchase agreement with the utility.

This real property tax exemption, enacted via Honolulu City Council Bill 58 (effective October 1, 2009) and later amended, exempts the full value of renewable energy property (solar PV, solar thermal, wind, biomass, combined heat and power, landfill gas, tidal, wave, and anaerobic digestion systems) for owner-use installations. For grid-export projects under power purchase agreements, 80% of the land value devoted to active energy production or storage is exempt. The exemption requires a filed claim and continues for the contract term, covering residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.