Hawaiian Electric Co. hopes to employ the rooftops of state, federal and county buildings in the production of electricity under a pilot program up for Public Utilities Commission approval.

The utility, along with its sister companies on the Big Island and Maui, yesterday filed an application that calls for installing as much as 16 megawatts of new photovoltaic system capacity on roofs. It said that would more than double the amount of photovoltaic generating capability in the state.

"This is something we believe is a win-win for everyone involved," said HECO spokesman Darren Pai.

HECO, along with Hawaii Electric Light Co. and Maui Electric Co., agreed to formulate such a program last October in signing an agreement with the state to expand use of renewable energy. The agreement is part of the Lingle administration's ambitious plan to move Hawai'i toward getting 70 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.

The plan announced yesterday was also part of the agreement, which looked at myriad energy issues. This included calling on the utilities to propose a program for contracting use of customer sites for the installation of photovoltaic systems.

The program announced yesterday has the utilities identifying and leasing large rooftops or other space from property owners. Pai said these likely would be large government agencies.

Once leased, the utilities would then solicit bids from photovoltaic developers to install, operate and maintain systems that will pump electricity into the utilities' grid. In return, the developers will get long-term contracts of up to 20 years to sell energy at a fixed price.

Pai said having utilities involved would simplify the process for landlords and vendors. Hawaiian Electric also believes consumers may benefit from vendors' competitive bidding on the projects.

"We're hopeful that the pricing is going to be very good and benefit our consumers not only in terms of price but for the environment," Pai said. He noted Southern California Edison, one of the nation's largest electric utilities, started a similar program last year.

The utilities, however, will face questions by Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of the Land, an environmental and community action group, who said he plans to intervene in the PUC hearings.

Curtis said one of his concerns is whether the utilities should be involved in the renewable energy business rather than allowing the market to develop by itself.

Already, a number of companies have taken steps to install photovoltaic systems to cut electricity costs that are the highest in the nation. That includes systems atop Wal-Mart Stores, Costco Wholesale, auto dealerships and shopping centers here.

The state Department of Transportation also embarked last year on a project to contract vendors who would install up to 34 megawatts of systems and sell the DOT the power, bypassing HECO. A megawatt of power is generally described as providing electricity for about 1,000 homes.

It remains to be seen if state, other government agencies and large building owners will be interested in the utilities' offering if the program is approved by the PUC. Yesterday, State Energy Administrator Ted Peck said the state intends to participate in the PUC proceedings and is encouraged that Hawaiian Electric is fulfilling the pledge for a PV Host program.

"Solar is going to be a significant component of the state's energy future," Peck said. He said the program, along with other pending legislation, could unleash significant investment money for solar in the state.

"We think that added competition in the solar space is healthy for everybody, especially the consumer," Peck said.

The filing comes as the state PUC is considering a number of energy related issues, including how much the utilities will pay renewable energy providers under so-called feed-in tariffs.

Carl Caliboso, PUC chairman, said his agency only had received the PV-Host program application yesterday and that he hadn't had a chance to review it. He said it was difficult to say how long it might take to consider the application.