Two weeks ago, Chris Thunken, president of Green Globe Solutions, and Saipan businessman JM Guerrero made two separate presentations in the chambers of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Unlike the 11 other companies that according to Commonwealth Utilities Corp. Executive Director Abe Malae have offered alternative energy in the last eight months, Green Globe Solutions can provide a combination of three renewable energy resources — wind, solar and bio-mass.
Green Globe Solutions said it can offer 30 megawatts from 10 wind turbines and a 10-megawatt photo-voltaic project. It’s a hybrid renewable energy system that can replace CNMI’s fossil-fuel-dependent power plant.
All this costs $170 million.
Thunken told the senators during last week’s presentation that if it were a car deal, “we are selling you a Mercedez Benz.” He said their products go a long way and are worth their price.
Besides the hybrid system which will be the project’s phase one, Green Globe Solutions will also explore the possibility of tapping bio-mass through the gasification process.
Once these are in place, CUC can buy Green Globe Solution’s power from 18 to 20 cents per kilowatt hour. Right now, CUC consumes 20,000 to 22,000 gallons of diesel a day for its Power Plant 4 alone. Diesel costs $4.66 per gallon.
Once the 30-megawatt wind farm is put up, the 10-megawatt photo voltaic project will come next. The company is proposing a memorandum of agreement for a 25-year contract with CUC.
The hybrid renewable energy system and bio-mass gasification will assure CUC fossil fuel independence by 2013, the company stated.
Once things are running smoothly, the company said it will put up a 10-megawatt gasification process, then expand the wind-solar hybrid system if the demand goes up.
The entire project, Green Globe Solutions said, will create construction jobs and long-term employment for locals.
Rep. Joseph M. Palacios, R-Saipan and chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, said Green Globe Solutions can reduce the current household power rates.
This will be a great help to the people of the CNMI, he said.
The proposal will bring in renewable energy and the establishment of a facility at no cost to the government, Palacios added.
“I think this is the right time for the CNMI government to really start looking into these proposals. They are basically trying to help us save money,” he said.
CUC Executive Director Abe Malae for his part, said they want a new power plant that uses renewable energy sources.
He said he likes the approach of Green Globe Solutions.
Senate President Paul A. Manglona, Ind.-Rota, said “we should be ready to work together” to bring in renewable energy sources.
He added, “We need to move toward renewable energy. There is supposed to be 40 percent renewable energy by early next year.”
