Senate committee hears CUC, GHD plan to reach 40% renewables; no vote taken
February 20, 2025 | Senate, Northern Mariana Legislative Sessions, Northern Mariana Islands
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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 demand in a mid-range near current planning assumptions, with the high-case reaching roughly 60–68 megawatts in the long run and the low-case near 43 megawatts (GHD characterized those as illustrative model outputs tied to assumed project timelines). For Tinian and Rota the firm presented lower absolute forecasts tied to smaller populations and fewer known projects.
On technology, GHD said its screening favored large-scale solar PV paired with battery storage. “Large scale solar PV and large scale battery” received the strongest marks in the firm’s multi-criteria screening, Tenorio said, based on local resource viability, cost competitiveness, maturity and reliability. GHD also assessed other options (continued diesel generation, gas, onshore wind, offshore wind, hydro, geothermal and biofuels) and scored them against local constraints and costs.
The team identified several potential public sites for utility-scale solar on Saipan (Escono, Nafthan, Calabara and Tapoachau were named in the presentation) and said Marple Heights was the primary candidate on Tinian. For Rota, available public land appears more constrained; GHD said it was continuing work with local authorities to find larger lots and that private land remained an option under consideration.
GHD described a multi-phase staging approach. In one part of the presentation the consultant described an initial stage with about 20 MW of solar and 15 MW of battery storage coming online in an early phase; elsewhere in the presentation speakers referenced a figure of 20 MW of solar and up to 50 MW of BESS for initial stages. Presenters acknowledged the differing figures during the hearing and tied the variance to evolving modeling inputs and site-specific constraints. By a later stage the plan shows a larger buildout (the presentation cited examples such as 40 MW of solar and 33 MW of BESS) that would together produce roughly the 40% renewable penetration target, contingent on demand growth.
Tenorio said the consultant used techno-economic modeling tools (including HOMER and PVsyst inputs for solar yield) and incorporated island-specific cost inputs for labor, shipping and import costs. He described system-impact studies that insert proposed generators into CUC’s power system model to identify necessary network upgrades and reliability implications. CUC staff said a power system model previously existed for Saipan and Rota and that the GHD effort produced a new model for Tinian as part of the project.
CUC participants at the hearing included board chair Janice Dinorio and Executive Director Kevin Watson. CUC operations staff who answered technical questions included Richard Tano (power generation manager), John Loftness (contracting administrator), Ivana Bonar (renewable energy engineer) and CFO Betty Terlahi. Dinorio told the committee the board and management would continue coordinating with stakeholders to refine siting, financing and permitting.
Senators pressed for clarifications on forecast assumptions and on land availability; presenters repeatedly noted that some project-level data remain uncertain and that further site-specific studies, permitting and potential land acquisitions would be needed before procurement. Tenorio specifically told the committee that a large proposed data center on Tinian was not included in the modeled scenarios because the consultants did not have confirmed size or timeline data due to nondisclosure agreements.
The public-comment period opened earlier in the hearing and then closed before the technical presentation; no formal committee action on the IRP was recorded during the session. The Committee adopted the meeting agenda at the start of the hearing by a recorded motion (see “Votes at a glance” below). The informational hearing will be followed by further review as CUC and GHD refine technical studies and present updated documentation to the committee and the public.
Votes at a glance
Motion to adopt today's meeting agenda — Motion by Senator Francisco Q. Cruz; seconded by Senator Corina L. Magoffnia. Vote: 5 in favor, 0 opposed, 0 abstentions, 1 absent (Senator Donald M. Manglonia). Motion carries.
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 demand in a mid-range near current planning assumptions, with the high-case reaching roughly 60–68 megawatts in the long run and the low-case near 43 megawatts (GHD characterized those as illustrative model outputs tied to assumed project timelines). For Tinian and Rota the firm presented lower absolute forecasts tied to smaller populations and fewer known projects.
On technology, GHD said its screening favored large-scale solar PV paired with battery storage. “Large scale solar PV and large scale battery” received the strongest marks in the firm’s multi-criteria screening, Tenorio said, based on local resource viability, cost competitiveness, maturity and reliability. GHD also assessed other options (continued diesel generation, gas, onshore wind, offshore wind, hydro, geothermal and biofuels) and scored them against local constraints and costs.
The team identified several potential public sites for utility-scale solar on Saipan (Escono, Nafthan, Calabara and Tapoachau were named in the presentation) and said Marple Heights was the primary candidate on Tinian. For Rota, available public land appears more constrained; GHD said it was continuing work with local authorities to find larger lots and that private land remained an option under consideration.
GHD described a multi-phase staging approach. In one part of the presentation the consultant described an initial stage with about 20 MW of solar and 15 MW of battery storage coming online in an early phase; elsewhere in the presentation speakers referenced a figure of 20 MW of solar and up to 50 MW of BESS for initial stages. Presenters acknowledged the differing figures during the hearing and tied the variance to evolving modeling inputs and site-specific constraints. By a later stage the plan shows a larger buildout (the presentation cited examples such as 40 MW of solar and 33 MW of BESS) that would together produce roughly the 40% renewable penetration target, contingent on demand growth.
Tenorio said the consultant used techno-economic modeling tools (including HOMER and PVsyst inputs for solar yield) and incorporated island-specific cost inputs for labor, shipping and import costs. He described system-impact studies that insert proposed generators into CUC’s power system model to identify necessary network upgrades and reliability implications. CUC staff said a power system model previously existed for Saipan and Rota and that the GHD effort produced a new model for Tinian as part of the project.
CUC participants at the hearing included board chair Janice Dinorio and Executive Director Kevin Watson. CUC operations staff who answered technical questions included Richard Tano (power generation manager), John Loftness (contracting administrator), Ivana Bonar (renewable energy engineer) and CFO Betty Terlahi. Dinorio told the committee the board and management would continue coordinating with stakeholders to refine siting, financing and permitting.
Senators pressed for clarifications on forecast assumptions and on land availability; presenters repeatedly noted that some project-level data remain uncertain and that further site-specific studies, permitting and potential land acquisitions would be needed before procurement. Tenorio specifically told the committee that a large proposed data center on Tinian was not included in the modeled scenarios because the consultants did not have confirmed size or timeline data due to nondisclosure agreements.
The public-comment period opened earlier in the hearing and then closed before the technical presentation; no formal committee action on the IRP was recorded during the session. The Committee adopted the meeting agenda at the start of the hearing by a recorded motion (see “Votes at a glance” below). The informational hearing will be followed by further review as CUC and GHD refine technical studies and present updated documentation to the committee and the public.
Votes at a glance
Motion to adopt today's meeting agenda — Motion by Senator Francisco Q. Cruz; seconded by Senator Corina L. Magoffnia. Vote: 5 in favor, 0 opposed, 0 abstentions, 1 absent (Senator Donald M. Manglonia). Motion carries.
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