Oahu’s solar photovoltaic industry continues to decline, at least when it came to the number of permits issued, as January showed a ninth straight month-over-month decline in this area, according to statistics compiled by Marco Mangelsdorf, president of Hilo-based ProVision Solar.

In January, there were 700 permits issued on Oahu, compared to 939 permits issued the same time last year, a drop of 25 percent.

The market seemed to have peaked in October 2012 when there were 2,433 permits issued.

The top contractors in January, in terms of number of permits pulled, were Alternate Energy Inc. with 110 permits, SolarCity Corp. with 101 permits, Vivint Solar Inc. with 82 permits, Hawaii Energy Connection LLC with 57 permits and American Electric Co. LLC and Bonterra Solar Services each with 32 permits.

But some in the industry caution that although companies are pulling permits, that doesn’t really mean that systems are being turned on.

"There’s decidedly less certainty these days that a PV permit equals an installed and operational PV system,” Mangelsdorf said. “Some companies are pulling permits before obtaining HECO approval while others are waiting for utility approval before getting the permit.”