“Thus, my administration is taking bold steps to significantly change our energy equation.” Uh-huh? What did he REALLY say? “I have declared a state of emergency for two years running and have come to the conclusion that we can’t fix it [the use of fossil fuel], so I finally lifted the ‘emergency’ when EPA slapped us with millions in fines we can’t pay.”
“Our new net-metering law is designed to encourage private customer generation of alternative energy.” What did he REALLY say?: “Our ‘net-metering’ law was enacted FOUR years ago, but we don’t have anybody that can write the regulations so no-one can use it yet — AND we didn’t want to make use of other locality’s generic regulations because then we wouldn’t be able to sole-source a contract to one of my buddies.”
“We have also created an Energy Task Force, which reports to my office…” What did he REALLY say?: “I have created a ‘clique’ of my friends that will NOT listen to anyone in the energy business unless they want to drill a geo-thermal well for me on my property, AND they are not required to make regular reports to the public.”
“We are aggressively exploring the potential of all feasible sources of alternative energy, and we have reason to be optimistic.” What did he REALLY say?: “We are ‘exploring’ geo-thermal potential because I got a grant for $1.2 million that I can direct as a sole-source contract to one of my buddies who has a rig that can drill a hole about 1/3 the depth needed — but that will use up all the money so that’s as deep as we can go, AND I don’t want to hear about any other possible sources of energy even if they ARE cheaper, easier or more readily available.”
“…we are actively encouraging private investment in waste-to-energy/gasification generation.” What did he REALLY say?: “A few fly-by-night operators have been to see us, and they all said there wasn’t enough waste or bio-mass present in the NMI to generate much power or make them a lot of money so it wasn’t worth any investment but we will continue to seek out these people so I can work out some quid-pro-quo.”
“Our current challenge in utilizing this energy is transporting it to our populated islands and I am always open to ideas on how this may be accomplished.” What did he REALLY say?: “The manner of transmitting such power has been widely published, is in the experimental stages, so far hasn’t worked, and costs a LOT of money — billions, in fact, but I can’t make heads or tails of other people’s writing AND I promised my people 100 MW of power at a cost significantly less than current fossil fuel prices.”
“It is my fervent hope that soon enough, my administration will be able to bring the “spirit of Chena” to the CNMI and usher in a new era of renewable energy for every family, every home.” What did he REALLY say?: “Does anybody here wanna help me persuade my people that my prayers to the spirits will bring me lots of sole-source contracts for my buddies and we will get lots of money for them before the people all move away because they can’t afford electricity and are growing tired of all my empty promises?”
Footnote to WAENGINEERING: I called Mr. Sam Berouty at SAIC corp. In McLean, VA regarding the R. W. Beck report on energy sources in the CNMI. His # is 703-xxx-4300. He is looking for the report at the Seattle office but doubts it is still around after 20 years. Also, if found, this report can only be released to the original contractor (the CNMI?). He is going to send me e-mail whatever he finds out. He also agrees that this would be a good place to start before continuing with work that may have already been done in order to avoid wasting funds. Do you know the exact name of the report or in whose name it was contracted?
DR. THOMAS D. ARKLE JR.
Winter Haven, Florida
