Building Company Honored for Energy Savings Got Solar Exemptions
Looking through my RSS reader this week, I stumbled upon a story titled .
I read dozens of Hawaii news stories every morning, and this one was pretty run-of-the-mill. The generic “Special To West Hawaii Today” byline could mean it’s a press release submitted to the newspaper and published without critical analysis — that was my experience as an editor at a neighbor island daily.
The story reveals that the U.S. Department of Energy has recognized HPM Building Supply with an “” for implementing energy savings.
The award was given to , the story says. HPM used conservation methods like shutting off lights, reducing air conditioning usage, turning off computers at night and using Energy Star motors for its equipment.
Not the biggest scoop, to be sure. But it caught my eye Wednesday because earlier this month I came upon HPM’s name in a very different context.
While researching my story about developers flouting the state’s solar water heating mandate, I saw among architect Robert Smelker’s 152 variance applications a handful identifying “hpmhi.com” as the owner, developer or contractor seeking the exemption. The website doesn’t actually load, but points to HPM Building Supply.
The state’s [pdf], updated through Nov. 9, includes hpmhi.com 12 times for homes on the Big Island. Eleven exemptions have been approved and another has been submitted for approval.
John Steuber, HPM’s director of manufacturing operations, told me Thursday that HPM is not an owner, not a developer and not a contractor. HPM, he said, is merely a supply company that provides builders with architectural designs to obtain the requisite permits, then later delivers materials — pre-manufactured trusses, roofing and wall panels, for example — to the job site.
“We do not do any on-site construction,” Steuber said.
Steuber said the company offers more than a dozen different “package homes,” all of which come standard with solar water heating.
“So when a customer elects to not spend that money, they have de-select that option,” he said. Furthermore, the company’s products help builders become eligible for rebates and certification, he said.
HPM Marketing Director Lee Wilson declined to reveal just how many package homes the company has sold since the solar water heating law went into effect Jan. 1, saying that data is proprietary. But the 12 homes seeking a gas variance represent “a small percentage of our total,” he said.
If true, the fact that homeowners are the ones making the call would bring HPM’s variance applications into compliance with the Hawaii Legislature‘s stated intent for the solar mandate. Lawmakers said in 2009 that they wanted residents paying utility bills, not developers, to be in charge.
Still, it’s interesting that even a company honored by the federal government for green business practices is among those contributing to Hawaii’s continued oil dependence via the loophole in the state’s solar law. The reality this company is facing shows how hard it will be to make the solar mandate stick.
