Senate committee hears CUC, GHD plan to reach 40% renewables; no vote taken

Saipan — The Senate Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications Committee heard an informational presentation Feb. 20 from the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC) and consultant GHD on an updated integrated resource plan that aims to reach 40% renewable energy penetration for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

GHD project manager Andre Tenorio told the committee the update is intended to replace the 2016 CUC IRP and to align CUC planning with a “main goal of the IRP update is to achieve 40% renewables.” Tenorio said the consultant team completed demand forecasting, technology screening and system-impact modeling for Saipan, Tinian and Rota and presented a staged buildout of solar photovoltaics and battery energy storage systems (BESS) to reach the target.

The committee’s hearing served as an informational review; no formal votes or approvals of projects or contracts were taken. Senators and CUC staff questioned details of the demand forecast, site selection, and system impacts, and presenters identified gaps in available data — including the exclusion of a large-scale data center from modeling because of nondisclosure constraints.

GHD presented three demand scenarios (low, base and high) that include population growth, expected development projects and uptake of electric vehicles. For Saipan the firm’s base-case projection places peak…