Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that the U.S.
Department of Energy has informed him of a $112,672 grant American Samoa
will receive under the DOE’s Million Solar Roof program.
The goal of the Million Solar Roofs Initiative is to install one
million solar energy systems on U.S. buildings by 2010. The Initiative
focuses on two types of solar energy technology --- photovoltaics that
produce electricity from sunlight, and solar thermal systems that produce
heat for domestic hot water.
“I want to commend the Territorial Energy Office for their efforts
in obtaining this grant,” said Faleomavaega, “and I whole-heartedly support
federal efforts to assist us with the promotion of commercially viable
solar energy products.”
In providing American Samoa with $49, 239 in Federal funds plus
$63,433 in non-federal contributions, the U.S. Department of Energy’s total
award of $112,672 has boosted Faleomavaega’s confidence in the department’s
efforts to promote the Million Solar Roof program in the territory.
The American Samoa Partnership, led by the Territorial Energy Office,
has set a goal to create a sustainable business environment that allows
private sector solar energy enterprises to profit from the sale and service
of solar energy products. In the past, the government has been the
only provider of solar energy services.
To develop and implement this goal, the American Samoa Partnership
has proposed activities that will include the following:
(1) Train local government and private sector plumbers to install
and
maintain solar water heating systems.
(2) Provide bilingual literature relating to solar energy principals
of
collection and storage.
(3) Provide bilingual literature relating to solar water heating
principals
and benefits.
“Because of our location near the equator, we are well positioned
to take advantage of solar technology and thereby reduce our dependence
on imported fuel,” said the Congressman. “With recent developments
in the generation of electricity through wave power, the territory has
considerable potential for energy-production in the future,” he concluded. |
![[106th Congress]](/faleomavaega/press/press_2000/images/106.jpg)
