I Liheslaturan Guåhan recognizes that Guam’s reliance on imported fossil fuels causes the island to be vulnerable to volatile oil prices. On average, nearly seventy percent (70%) of a ratepayer’s power bill is attributed to the cost of fuel that is driven by the global oil market.

I Liheslatura further finds that over the past decade, the prevalence of renewable energy opportunities (e.g., solar photovoltaic systems) has been helpful with lowering the cost of

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utility bills to residents and businesses who could afford such investment. The Guam Power Authority (GPA) has added over one hundred twenty-five megawatts (125 MW) of utility-scale renewable energy and energy storage from solar farms in Inalåhan and Mangilao, and strategically placed battery energy storage systems; and GPA’s 2022 Integrated Resource Plan anticipates over one hundred eighty megawatts (180+ MW) in additional renewable energy projects.

I Liheslatura further finds that both the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the GPA have asserted that solar energy is currently the most viable form of renewable energy for Guam. Renewable energy is currently cheaper than power produced by fossil fuels and its cost is far less volatile than the fossil fuel industry, despite intermittency concerns. The use of renewable energy reduces the fuel costs for power production which should in turn reduce the cost of power bills; and the island’s need for an efficient, affordable and independent fuel supply for power production can be met with renewable energy.

I Liheslatura finds that utilizing qualified rooftops on Guam presents solutions to Guam’s limited land inventory; and rooftop solar systems reduce the need for land while utilizing spaces that are currently not being utilized.

I Liheslatura finds that rooftop solar systems provide an opportunity to develop distributed generation or decentralized power, whereby the power generated for the energy grid comes from numerous sources distributed across the grid rather than from centralized power plants or solar farms. Distributed generation may reduce the costs of transmission and line loss while improving both the efficiency and resiliency of the energy grid as a whole.

I Liheslatura finds that the only rooftop solar program currently available through GPA is the Net Energy Metering (NEM) program. However, GPA and the Consolidated Commission on Utilities (CCU) have asserted that the NEM program is cost prohibitive for the utility. The NEM program allows homeowners and businesses to produce energy via rooftop solar systems. Excess energy produced by NEM customers is fed back into the energy grid. The NEM customer is then credited on

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a one-to-one ratio based on the net energy they produce. GPA and the CCU have asserted that this amounts to the power authority purchasing solar power from homeowners at the same rate at which they sell power to other customers, while the cost of energy acquired through current utility-scale solar contracts are significantly less expensive.

I Liheslatura finds that a Virtual Power Plant Program provides an alternative rooftop solar program that addresses the challenges of the NEM program while promoting more accessible, affordable, and clean renewable energy. In this way, GPA is able to structure the Virtual Power Plant rooftop solar program in a manner that generates cheaper and cleaner power for the grid, maintains the stream of revenues necessary for the operations of the overall energy grid, broadens the access of renewable energy to ratepayers, lessens its reliance on imported fossil fuels, lessens the need for land, lowers utility bills, and works toward Guam’s overall renewable energy goal. This program adds renewable energy to the grid through a distributed generation model with no cost to homeowners and zero upfront cost to the utility while decreasing the overall cost of fuel thus decreasing rates for all customers. A Virtual Power Plant Program enables GPA to manage the energy produced through a network of Solar Hosts with rooftop solar photovoltaic systems and battery energy storage systems as if the network was itself a power plant.

It is, therefore, the intent of I Liheslatura to mandate that the GPA establish a Virtual Power Plant Program for the purpose of providing clean renewable distributed generation of energy to advance the renewable portfolio standard.

Moreover, it is the intent of I Liheslatura:

(a) to create a Virtual Power Plant Program;

(b) to provide access to qualified homeowners, businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations who wish to participate as Solar Hosts of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems;

(c) for GPA to achieve its renewable portfolio standards goals pursuant to § 8311 of Article 3 of this Title;

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(d) to stimulate job growth and economic development in the local renewable energy industry;

(e) to reduce Guam’s reliance on imported fuel;

(f) to reduce fuel costs thus creating greater savings to all utility customers; and

(g) to add energy security and resiliency to Guam’s
power grid.