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3 sites ID’d for solar grid farms
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has already identified three possible locations for solar power grid farms, with the one to be built on Saipan expected to occupy approximately 33 hectares of land and will include Battery Energy Storage Systems.
As CUC continues to work on expanding its current renewable energy portfolio, it is also looking into setting up solar systems on Rota and Tinian.
Based on a newly established Integrated Resource Plan, CUC is now working on the engineering design and preliminary development of a 20-megawatt photovoltaic utility-scale solar system.
For Saipan, which only has one main baseload power plant, “it’s imperative that we don’t affect that baseload supply,” said CUC executive director Gary P. Camacho. “There are several different things that we are preparing for. We want to make sure CUC does it correctly and implements the 20-megawatt utility-scale solar systems in a manner that is non disruptive to our community.”
Photo shows an example of the solar power grid farm that the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. aim to build in the Commonwealth. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
He said that CUC also has another grant for a power grid stability study, which will investigate the dynamics and the impact of renewable sources connecting to the existing grid. “We want to make sure that we address all the protection, relays, and a variety of equipment at the power plant to ensure that the renewables penetration is intermittent throughout the day and doesn’t affect the power plant,” he added.
Camacho reiterated that “we’ve been working for years on this, but it’s very important for us to be able to ensure that we do it in a manner that is, again, non-disruptive and positive so we can maximize the savings.”
He assured that CUC has and always will be committed to provide clean energy by incorporating new technology to help reduce the CNMI’s dependence on fossil fuels “to protect our environment and inevitably lower utility rates.”
