HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Sen. Joe San Agustin lauded the Guam Visitors Bureau for installing solar streetlights in the island’s tourism district, and said the initiative should be used as a steppingstone to convert streetlights island wide.
The senator’s office stated in a press release that the government of Guam pays the Guam Power Authority an average of $5 million annually to power streetlights throughout the island.
“Investing the $5 million we spent on regular lighting in solar lighting will save us millions of dollars in the end,” San Agustin said in the release.
“With a proper maintenance plan built into the purchase of the solar streetlights, we will save in various ways, to include the cost of generating power, allowing our power authority to focus on the generation of power for our homes and businesses, and less reliance on fossil fuel, as we intend. The installation of these lights is paramount for the safety of all our people who not only work, play and visit Tumon, but throughout the island,” the senator added.
According to the release, the installation of nearly 400 street and sidewalk solar lights in Tumon includes maintenance of the solar panels for three years. San Agustin said he has been a proponent of using solar energy in the government, and GVB’s solar light installations serve as a “prime example” of what can be done to “save our government resources while saving the earth.”
“I want to congratulate and thank GVB President former Gov. Carl Gutierrez; GVB Vice President Dr. Gerry Perez; and the GVB board and team for their vision and forward thinking in installing solar lights in our tourism district, from Gun Beach all the way to the Archbishop Flores roundabout. By their action, GVB is setting a brilliant example for the government to follow in other areas of our island, especially on roads that have sidewalks or no streetlights at all,” San Agustin said.
Newly installed solar streetlights are seen on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, at the entrance to Gun Beach Road in Tumon.
