Thank you for your participation!

See some of the winners and a sample solar system here.

The holiday season will be a bit brighter for ten Hawaii households. Blue Planet Foundation and Suntech Hawaii have teamed up to offer free solar water heating systems to ten Oahu families. Winners will be selected from a list of those who sign up to be a “friend” of Blue Planet by noon, December 21, and winners announced December 23. The solar giveaway is one of a series of programs Blue Planet Foundation will be rolling out over the next year to decrease household energy use in Hawaii.

The ten solar water heaters—to be installed in the first months of 2009—will save approximately 500 barrels of oil over the life of the system. At today’s electricity prices, they will also save the homeowners about $150,000 collectively over the next 15 years. 

Blue Planet and Suntech Hawaii are able to deliver solar hot water systems system at no out-of-pocket cost to the homeowners because of the state and federal tax incentives supporting adoption of solar energy. The two organizations have agreed to jointly cover the full after-tax/after-rebate cost of the systems.

BLUE PLANET / SUNTECH HOLIDAY SOLAR GIVEAWAY OFFICIAL RULES

1. Winners must be eligible for the HECO rebate (ie, not have an existing system less than ten years old and not use gas to heat water) or else must be willing to pay $1,000 to offset the rebate amount.
2. The winning property must be structurally able to support the hot water system. For example, roofs with extensive termite damage may need to be replaced or repaired prior to installation. In such cases, if the homeowner intends to make the necessary repairs, Suntech Hawaii and Blue Planet Foundation will delay installation through January 31, 2010, after which date the system will not be installed.
3. Anyone is welcome to sign-up as a Friend of Blue Planet, but only Oahu households (homeowner or renters at properties where the owner agrees to install the system) are qualified to win the solar water heating system for this Contest. 
4. Suntech Hawaii and Blue Planet Foundation will help homeowners calculate their estimated tax incentives but homeowners are fully responsible for ensuring the applicability of the credits to their particular tax situation. Winners should not consider any information provided by either of the gifting entities should not be considered tax advice, and should consult tax professionals for the purpose of determining the applicability of the credits to their particular tax situation.
5. Winners will be reimbursed for the after-tax and after-rebate cost of their system, up to a maximum of $2,100.
6. Solar systems will be sized based on either 80 or 120 gallon tanks, depending the water heating demand of the home, with judgment of the appropriate sizing made by Suntech Hawaii in accordance with it standard operating procedures and the dictates of the utility rebate program.
7. For contest purposes, only one Blue Planet Friend sign-up per person. No household may win more than one system.
8. To be eligible, sign-up as a Blue Planet Friend must be completed by 11:59 a.m. HST December 21, 2008.
9. To be eligible for the Contest, Blue Planet Friend sign-ups must include the physical address of the home that would have the solar water heating system installed.
10. The selection of winners will be done so as to ensure geographic distribution but will be random within geographic groupings.
11. The solar water heating systems will be installed by Suntech Hawaii between January 1, 2009, and May 1, 2009.
12. Winners must be willing to share their electric utility (HECO) bill from the month prior to solar water heating system installation with Blue Planet Foundation for educational purposes; information from the utility bill can be kept private if the winner so desires.
13. Winners will be notified by phone or email before December 24, 2009.
14. Individuals who sign-up as a Friend of Blue Planet can chose to "unsubscribe" as a Friend at any time.
15. This Contest is void where and to the extent prohibited by law and is subject to all applicable laws, including, without limitation, federal, state, and local laws and regulations. In the event of non-compliance by any winner with the official rules of this Contest, an alternate winner may be selected. 
16. All taxes on any prize won are the sole responsibility of each winner, including, without limitation, any federal, state, or local taxes which may be deemed applicable in such winner’s jurisdiction of residence.
17. By participating, entrants agree that Blue Planet Foundation and Suntech Hawaii, those involved in the development, production, implementation and distribution of this Contest and their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, service providers, and agencies, and their directors, officers, agents, employees, attorneys, and any other person or entity associated with such entities and/or promotion (hereinafter collectively called "Promoters"), shall not be liable for any claims, damages, losses or injuries, including any third party claims, arising from or relating to, in whole or in part, this Contest, including entry and participation in this Contest and acceptance, possession, use or misuse of the solar water heating systems. All entrants further agree that in the event of any third party claims, damages, losses or injuries, arising from or relating to such entrant’s participation in this Contest, such entrant will indemnify and hold Promoters harmless from and against any and all such claims, including reasonable attorneys’ fees related thereto. Promoters shall not be liable for entries that are delayed, lost, misdirected, misdelivered, incorrect or incomplete, and such entries will be not be eligible for this Contest. Promoters shall not be responsible for any technical malfunctions of any telephone network, computer on-line system, computer equipment or software; program malfunctions or other failures; delayed computer transactions or network connections; any errors of any kind, whether human, mechanical or electronic; or any combination thereof, including, without limitation, any injury or damage to the computer of any entrant or any other person related to or resulting from downloading any part of this Contest. Any person attempting to defraud or in any way tamper with this Contest will be ineligible for prizes and may be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Blue Planet Foundation reserves the right to modify the rules of the Contest in any way or at any time, as long as reasonable notice is given. This Contest shall be governed by the laws of the State of Hawaii, United States of America.
For more information, email friends@blueplanetfoundation.org or call 808-954-6161.