CUC finalizing PPA for solar energy on Saipan, Rota

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. is moving forward in finalizing a power purchase agreement for solar energy for both Saipan and Rota.

At CUC’s board meeting on June 19, American Capital Energy disclosed that CUC had given them an exclusive right to negotiate a solar power purchase agreement in 2011.

The CUC board gave CUC management the go signal on June 19 to move forward with the PPA and finalize the contract with ACE, with consideration that the planned 10 megawatt capacity is built on Saipan (8MW) and Rota (2MW).

The project cost is estimated at $35 million to $40 million.

“At this time, we are moving forward in finalizing a PPA based on the original procurement,” according to CUC executive director Alan Fletcher.

Fletcher said that CUC envisioned up to 0.6MW for Rota and up to 9.4MW for Saipan.

At their most recent meeting in July, CUC board chair David Sablan Jr. said there could be problem with the 0.6MW CUC envisions for Rota. Sablan told CUC management that Rota needs more.

Sablan recommended that the contract for Rota be amended or that another RFP could be issued for an additional 1.4MW but Fletcher said that CUC should avoid over-procurement. He did note that the project is expandable in its design.

“As we move forward, plans are that a project will be ‘scalable’ in design, that is, ready to be expanded as demands change,” Fletcher told Saipan Tribune.

Fletcher’s example is that CUC would not build a new 80MW power plant on Saipan.

“Our current demand (usage) peaks at around 35MW. If we were to build a new plant, we would build to the current demand, say 40MW range,” Fletcher said. “And build in the ability to expand in the future as new customers come online and scales increase.”

Rota is currently at a 1.3MW in diesel generation for peak maximum usage.

According to Fletcher, in the last year CUC has continued to work through a backlog of customer-owned solar project applications now totaling 2.3MW.

“We now know that there are finite levels of energy we can introduce into the system in order to safely maintain grid stability,” Fletcher said.

ACE is looking at building the project within 46 months.

“As a result, the size and configuration of any new solar project energy will be a primary factor as we look to finalizing a PPA with ACE,” Fletcher said.