Geothermal drilling to start in American Samoa
Beach scenery in American Samoa (source: flickr/ YXO, creative commons)
Francisco Rojas
20 Jul 2015
Switching 30% of energy generation from fossil to renewables could save 8 million dollars in fuel costs to the American Samoa by 2020.
The American Samoa has had a long fight to cut down their reliance on imported oil for energy generation. These imports have a significant impact on the country’s finances and renewables are a viable option to substitute the latter.
According to Radio New Zealand, “The American Samoa Power Authority’s board chairman, Fonoti Perelini Perelini, says scientists have discovered that the selected sites as being adequate to produce electricity, and the drilling will help provide more conclusive data.”
This follows an announcement last May of $2,374,000 in grant assistance under the Empowering Insular Communities or EIC Program for various clean energy and energy-efficiency projects in American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Radio New Zealand also states that “by 2020, 30 percent of the territory’s electricity will be generated from renewable sources such as sun, wind, and geothermal, which will save the territory about 8 million dollars in fuel costs.” according to the American Samoa Power Authority.
Source: Radio New Zealand
