Bill 74-32 sits before the Guam Legislature-a measure that
will allow the Guam Department of Education (GDOE) to enter into one or more
power purchase agreements (PPA) to purchase solar energy from qualified
provider or providers which will be at the best financial interest of the
Government of Guam for a period up to and not exceeding twenty five years. This week, the Guam Renewable Energy
Association went on a full court press onto Hessler Street to get this
important piece of legislation passed to help grow a fledgling industry in
Micronesia.
GREA was started on Guam to
bring together all of the renewable energy experts on the Island to establish
this well needed industry and to educate the public and private sector on the
importance of renewable energy and also the affordability of renewable energy.
There are Senators still undecided on this matter. There are some industry folks including some
members of GREA attempting to turn the Bill into a renewable "Christmas"
tree law. The Guam Power Authority is fully resisting its passage.
The time has
come for this isolated American community to stop talking about being
"green" and demand action to finally bring a sustainable energy
solution to our respective doorsteps.
This blogger has learned that in a few short years we will
be at grid parity in the United States with renewable energy. The acceleration
of energy storage is becoming mainstream with logic technology being introduced
and the pricing becoming competitive to the exportation of this energy to the
grid whereas facilities will be able to store their own excess energy that they
over produce during the day.
Also, after years of bellowing that there are no experts in
the renewable energy field on Guam, GREA has brought forward home-grown folks
that have been involved in school-related energy projects in the US mainland. Each with
great success.
Why 74-32 now?
GET, LLC and the Association has since been in the process
of establishing renewable projects with both short and long term benefits to
the utilities grid over the past couple of years. Once this Bill is passed. the
costs saved by this solar energy generation would include among other things:
- Social Benefits: including business to business commerce, job creation, a new tax base, training of skilled workers.
- Environmental Benefits: Guam’s contribution to the reduction of fossil fuel becoming a Pacific leader in Island climate change.
- Fuel Price Insurance: Electricity generation from solar resources has an embedded fuel price hedge like value, since its cost of generation is known with reasonable certainty over the expected system life.
- Utility Energy Purchases/ Generation Impacts: Solar Distributed Generation (DG) reduces the onsite energy requirements of the utility customers who employ these systems. As the number of DG systems increase, sufficient energy may be generated by these systems to offset utility purchases of energy or utility generation. These will create a net economic impact associated with avoided fuel purchases and generation plant O&M costs.
- Transmission and Distribution Line Loss Impacts: Distributed solar projects generate energy at the point of use, reducing consumption of energy from the utility grid. In reducing grid energy requirements, the localized distribution feeders and transmission lines serving the utility experience reduced line losses
- Reliability Benefits: Solar is a proven technology that is very reliable. In larger systems added with storage this can be a very beneficial source of energy for the utility.
- Energy Security: By adding DG solar this will add to Guam’s energy security reducing the effects of any political impact and the associated price of fuel, such as wars, weather, and the relentless manipulation of supply and demand on fossil fuel.
GET, LLC is proud to be a part of the Association. We will continue to work with Senators and GPA
as a partner in Energy, and continue to establish a credible Industry. An industry
that we believe will not only secure our future as becoming less reliant on
fossil fuel but securing our future and our children’s, children future as a
carbon neutral society.
We, the people of Guam are the owners of our utility and
some of us are rate payers. Our role as
owners carries with it an awesome responsibility to our island, its people, its
environment, and its economy. The
utility is not an isolated entity unto itself.
We are the utility. Its action or inaction affect all of us.
Guam Senators-you are the voice of the owners.
Please vote yes on 74-32.