Delayed SSHS windmill project an ‘eyesore’—Sablan
Education Commissioner Dr. Rita Sablan reiterates the call to get a stalled turbine project off Public School System property.
The dysfunctional windmills at Saipan Southern High School are an “eyesore” and create noise that generates “a lot of complaints from the community around it,” according to Board of Education chair Herman Guerrero.
Sablan said the project was originally a $10-million renewable energy project for public schools.
While other projects have gone forward, the project at Saipan Southern High appears to be the “only defective one,” she said.
“They built on our property because we endorsed non-renewable energy,” she told Saipan Tribune. “If they install something that doesn’t work” then they should “get if off our property.”
The company working on the project had missed the March 31, 2015, deadline. According to the commissioner, this was one of the several project extensions given to the company.
Guerrero said around that time that if the company is “not going to work [on it], then perhaps they need to remove the equipment from our property, because it’s just going to create problems for us later on.”
As reported in 2011, the Division of Energy gave PSS approximately $2.4 million from the $6.5 million it received from the U.S. Department of Energy for Renewable projects for the completion of this project.
The project was awarded to Pacific Green Integrated Technology Inc. and Pacific Wind & Solar LLC in September 2010.
PSS is not the expenditure or contracting authority for the project; it’s the Division of Energy.
Both Sablan and Guerrero said the Attorney General’s Office is looking into the matter.
AND I bet that these people got paid up front because they were somebody’s in a high Govt. position relative.
BTW there has been enough comments in the media about the noise generated by these windmills.
I remember in the proposed start of this project that there was statements about the noise generated by these things.
Years ago in Hawaii HELCO (Hwaiian Electric) had a large windfarm on the Big Island at Waimea, close to Parker Ranch, in the pasture land. This was eventually shut down in part due to costly maintenance that added to the cost of energy production. You could hear the rotors for a very long distance, it even disturbed the cattle.
BTW if this thing is already paid for maybe put out an RFP (for a negative bid) for removal and let the contractor keep the thing in exchange for the removal.
Maybe someone will be interested in actually putting it into operation at another location.
BTW, from all accounts Pacific Wind and Solar are non-existent now.
And Pacific Green Energy came into existent in 2009. This company has absolutely NO reviews on any completed contracts. They are based in Guam and seem to be only a consulting company. Are they even still in business? They use various installers with no installers in the CNMI.
So which one of our local families were involved in this scam?