AMP to host $747K solar power pilot project

CNMI Rep. Gregorio “Kilili” C. Sablan is applauding the decision to invest $747,000 in stimulus money in a solar electricity project at American Memorial Park.

“I congratulate Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on his selection of the American Memorial Park as one of the National Park Service locations that will receive money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” said Sablan.

The $747,000 will allow the Park Service to install a grid-connected solar array at the Visitors Center on Saipan. A grid-connected array can send any excess electricity produced by the solar panels and not needed by the Visitors Center back into the island power network.

“This is a particularly timely decision by Secretary Salazar,” Sablan said. “Earlier this month the Park Service announced that the Visitor Center at American Memorial Park would have to close for part of the week, because of the cost of electricity. I immediately put my staff to work to look for ways to use Recovery Act money to address the closure. And now the Park will be making its own electricity.

“This is good for our tourism industry; because the Visitor Center can certainly be one of the highlights for tourists visiting Saipan and interested in our history.

“This is good for our power system; because it will reduce the load on CUC generators.

“This is good for the development of alternative forms of electrical production in the Marianas; because the project will demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of a grid-connected solar electric system.

“It will also be a test case for the durability of larger scale photovoltaic systems in a tropical environment, which is a question often raised about this form of alternative energy.”

The American Memorial Park is already using smaller scale solar power. The street lights in the Visitors Center parking area each has its own solar panel and battery storage system.

All together the National Park Service plans to invest $750 million around the country to stimulate the economy, generate jobs, and protect the places of natural and historic importance, which are the responsibility of the Parks.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed by Congress in February, also has as a primary objective moving America to greater energy efficiency and more sustainable forms of energy production.

The Northern Marianas congressman has been a strong supporter of the Recovery Act and of President Obama’s overall economic plans for the nation.

For more information about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and how it is benefiting the people of the Northern Marianas go to http://sablan.house.gov. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]