The Hawaii Energy Credit is considered a ‘nonrefundable credit,’ so you will not get a refund for the balance. However, you can carry over the balance of any unused amount of the tax credit into the following tax year until it is exhausted.
Alternatively, you may elect to file with the ‘refundable’ option where the State will cut the system owner a check for the credit amount reduced by 30% (effectively 24.5%), regardless of their tax liability. This option offers some flexibility; however, the refundable credit is treated as taxable income by the IRS and will be subject to federal income taxes during the year in which it was received.