The following report provides some energy quick facts about Northern Mariana.
Quick Facts:
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) meets nearly all of its energy demand through importing petroleum products, including 22 million to 24 million gallons of diesel fuel annually to run the islands' five electricity generating plants.
Diesel fuel surcharges on electricity in CNMI have ranged from 24 to 48 cents per kilowatt-hour in recent years, bringing the average electricity price as of January 2012 to 36 cents per kilowatt-hour.
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp., CNMI's public utility, is focusing on waste gasification, geothermal, solar, and wind technologies to reduce the need for petroleum-fired electricity generation.
Nearby volcanoes make CNMI – particularly the islands of Pagan and Saipan – unique in Micronesia in having abundant geothermal energy potential, and CNMI has excellent resources for both wind and solar power.
CNMI enacted a Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring 80 percent of net electricity sales to come from renewable energy resources by 2015.
