Northern Mariana Islands Territory Energy Profile

Northern Mariana Islands 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 cents to 48 cents per kilowatthour in recent 

years, but recent decreases in world petroleum prices have brought the surcharge down 23% from September 

2014 to March 2015. The average residential electricity price for a CNMI customer using 1,000 kilowatthours per 

month is 27 cents per kilowatthour as of March 2015. 

• 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% of net electricity sales to come from renewable 

energy resources by 2015 if cost-effective resources are available.

Last Updated: April 16, 2015

Data

Last Update: June 18, 2015 | Next Update: July 16, 2015

Economy

Population and Industry Northern Mariana 

Islands

United States Period

Population -- 311.6 million 2011 

Energy Intensity -- 7,328 Btu per 2005 U.S. dollar 2011 

Reserves & Supply

Reserves Northern Mariana 

Islands

United States Period

Crude Oil -- 23 billion barrels 2011 

Natural Gas Reserves -- 305 billion cu ft 2011 

Recoverable Coal -- 260,551 million short tons 2008 

Production Northern Mariana 

Islands

United States Period

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Economy

Total Energy -- 78 quadrillion Btu 2011 

Crude Oil -- 8,653 thousand barrels/day 2014 

Natural Gas - Marketed -- 25,319 billion cu ft 2012 

Coal -- 1,016,458 thousand short tons 2012 

Capacity Northern Mariana 

Islands

United States Period

Crude Oil Refinery Capacity (as of Jan. 

1) 

-- 17,823,659 barrels/calendar 

day 

2013 

Total Electricity Installed Capacity -- 1,063 million kW 2012 

Net Electricity Generation Northern Mariana 

Islands

United States Period

Total Net Electricity Generation -- 4,048 billion kWh 2012 

Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Coal Net 

Electricity Generation 

-- 2,775 billion kWh 2012 

Total Electricity Generation from 

Renewable Sources 

-- 508 billion kWh 2012 

 » Hydroelectric -- 276 billion kWh 2012 

 » Other Renewables -- 232 billion kWh 2012 

Production Facilities Northern Mariana Islands

Major Coal Mines None

Petroleum Refineries None

Major Non-Nuclear Electricity 

Generating Plants 

Rota Power Plant (Commonwealth Utilities Corporation) ; Saipan 

Power Plant 4 (Commonwealth Utilities Corporation) ; Saipan 

Power Plants 1 & 2 (Commonwealth Utilities Corporation) ; Tinian 

Power Plant (Commonwealth Utilities Corporation)

Nuclear Power Plants None

Imports & Exports

Total Imports Northern Mariana 

Islands

United States Period

Crude Oil Imports -- 9,213 thousand barrels/day 2010 

Total Petroleum Product Imports -- 2,580 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Motor Gasoline Imports -- 134 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Jet Fuel Imports -- 98 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Kerosene Imports -- 2 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Distillate Fuel Imports -- 228 thousand barrels/day 2010 

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Economy

 » Residual Fuel Imports -- 366 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Liquefied Petroleum Gas Imports -- 179 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Other Petroleum Products Imports -- 1,572 thousand barrels/day 2010 

Natural Gas Imports -- 3,138 billion cu ft 2012 

Coal Imports -- 10,294 thousand short tons 2012 

Total Exports Northern Mariana 

Islands

United States Period

Crude Oil Exports -- 42 thousand barrels/day 2010 

Total Petroleum Product Exports -- 2,311 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Motor Gasoline Exports -- 296 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Jet Fuel Exports -- 84 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Kerosene Exports -- 1 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Distillate Fuel Exports -- 656 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Residual Fuel Exports -- 405 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Liquefied Petroleum Gas Exports -- 164 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Other Petroleum Products Exports -- 705 thousand barrels/day 2010 

Natural Gas Exports -- 1,619 billion cu ft 2012 

Coal Exports -- 126,720 thousand short tons 2012 

Distribution & Marketing

Distribution Centers Northern Mariana Islands

Oil Seaports/Oil Import Sites Saipan ; Tinian ; West Harbor

Natural Gas Market Centers None

Major Pipelines None

Consumption

per Capita Northern Mariana 

Islands

United States Period

Total Energy -- 313 million Btu/person 2011 

by Source Northern Mariana 

Islands

United States Period

Total Energy -- 95 quadrillion Btu 2012 

Total Petroleum Products -- 19,180.1 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Motor Gasoline -- 8,992.7 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Distillate Fuel -- 3,800.3 thousand barrels/day 2010 

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Economy

 » Liquefied Petroleum Gases -- 2,265.3 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Jet Fuel -- 1,431.6 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Kerosene -- 20 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Residual Fuel -- 535 thousand barrels/day 2010 

 » Other Petroleum Products -- 2,135 Thousand Barrels/Day 2010 

Natural Gas -- 25,533 Billion cu ft 2012 

Coal -- 889,185 Thousand Short Tons 2012 

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

by Source Northern Mariana 

Islands

United States Period

Total Fossil Fuels -- 5,270 million metric tons 2012 

Petroleum -- 2,269 million metric tons 2013 

Natural Gas -- 1,374 million metric tons 2012 

Coal -- 1,656 million metric tons 2012 

Analysis

Last Updated: April 16, 2015

Overview

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is a chain of 14 

islands in the Pacific Ocean, located three-fourths of the way from Hawaii to the 

Philippines. The islands are the tops of a subsea mountain range whose eastern 

boundary is the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot known on earth. The islands 

stretch northward in an arc from Guam toward Japan. The Northern Marianas 

have a tropical marine climate with little seasonal temperature variation, a dry 

season from December to June, and a rainy season from July to October. 

Typhoons occur in the rainy season. The islands are typically thickly forested and 

have groundwater supplies. Coral reefs edge some of their shorelines, and two 

islands have active volcanoes. The territory has a total area of 179 square miles, 

about three times the size of Washington, DC.

Like other U.S. Pacific islands, the CNMI has no conventional energy resources 

and meets nearly all of its energy needs with petroleum shipped in by tanker. Only three of the islands, on the southern 

end of the island chain near Guam, are currently inhabited: Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. About 9 in 10 residents live on 

Saipan, the largest island. The population has been shrinking, and totaled about 54,000 in the 2010 U.S. Census. The 

shrinkage is the result of a shift in CNMI's economy, as garment factories, once the largest industry, have closed and as 

foreign contract workers have left. The territorial government is now the largest contributor to the gross domestic product. 

Tourism, led by vacationers from Japan, is the largest private industry. Other industries include cattle ranching and small 

farming.

Petroleum

The Northern 

Mariana Islands 

import 

petroleum to 

meet nearly all 

of their energy 

needs.

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The CNMI neither produces nor refines petroleum. Petroleum products are imported by ship through harbors on Saipan, 

Tinian, and Rota. The three islands import between 520,000 and 575,000 barrels of diesel fuel annually for electricity 

generation alone, at a cost of about $60 million in 2010. The government sector typically consumes more than 800,000 

barrels of diesel and 100,000 barrels of motor gasoline for transportation. U.S. law allows use of less expensive, highsulfur motor gasoline in the Pacific territories. Other petroleum imports include liquefied petroleum gas, used mainly by 

businesses and households for cooking, heating water, and laundry.

Natural gas

The CNMI does not produce or consume natural gas.

Coal

The CNMI does not produce or consume coal.

Electricity

The CNMI's electric system is owned and operated by the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC), a public 

corporation of the CNMI government. The CNMI has three small electric grids, one on each of the inhabited islands. 

Electricity is generated by five diesel-fueled power plants: three on Saipan and one each on Tinian and Rota. Generating 

capability is about 70 megawatts on Saipan, 20 megawatts on Tinian, and 4.5 megawatts on Rota.

On Saipan, the commercial sector, including tourist facilities, consumes more than 

one-third of all power and is the largest consumer. Hotels consume electricity 

mainly for air conditioning, water heating, and water purification. The residential 

sector is the second-largest consumer, using about one-fourth of all power. The 

CUC also operates street lighting, drinking water, and wastewater disposal 

systems, which together consume about one-twelfth of the electricity generated on 

Saipan. On Tinian, about half of the electricity is consumed by a hotel-casino 

complex and the federal government’s International Broadcasting Bureau relay 

station.

Electricity customers pay a fuel surcharge that varies with the world price of diesel 

fuel, which has brought the price of power in recent years to three to four times the 

U.S. average. Most large hotels have generators and make electricity for their own 

use when grid supply is unreliable or fuel surcharges are high. The CUC is 

seeking both conventional and renewable alternative electricity sources to reduce 

the cost and increase the reliability of its existing diesel-fueled generation.

Renewable energy

The CNMI government enacted a renewable portfolio standard in 2007 that required the CUC to obtain 10% of its 

electricity from renewable energy sources in 2008, rising to 80% in 2014. However, compliance is required only if there is 

a cost-effective way to meet the standard, and progress toward the standard has been limited. The CUC has solicited 

private project proposals for renewable energy technologies, but no utility-scale facilities have yet been built. The law 

requires the CNMI government to develop a list of sites for potential renewable energy development.

Saipan, Tinian, and Rota are believed to have prevailing wind resources suitable 

for commercial turbines. But potential sites are limited, because the islands are 

mountainous, land is scarce, and turbines may interfere with airstrip and military 

facilities. There are also concerns about turbine impacts on several threatened 

bird species. Turbines must also be designed to withstand typhoons.

The commercial 

sector, led by 

tourism, is the 

largest 

electricity 

consumer in the 

Northern 

Mariana 

Islands.

Geothermal 

technologies are 

being explored 

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Solar energy resources are believed to be suitable for both solar hot water heating 

and for electricity generation by photovoltaic (PV) panels. Some rooftop solar PV 

projects are connected to the grid. Projects with combinations of solar panels and 

small wind turbines have been installed at schools and at other government 

buildings across the three islands to provide both power to the buildings and 

opportunities for students to learn about renewable energy. The projects include 

250 solar panels with 74.5 kilowatts of total generating capacity and 16 wind 

turbines with a total of 144 kilowatts of capacity. The initial facilities were at Saipan 

Southern High School. Because of the small size of the three islands' grids, integration of variable wind and solar energy 

must be balanced carefully, possibly by combining advanced batteries and solar PV panels.

Geothermal technologies are also being explored because the islands are part of known undersea volcanic formations. 

Several of the uninhabited northern islands have recently active volcanoes. Other renewable technologies being 

investigated for the Mariana Islands include possible conversion of non-recyclable municipal wastes to energy, and Sea 

Water Air Conditioning, which uses deep sea water in chillers for commercial air conditioners.

Other Resources

Energy-Related Regions and Organizations

• Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD): 7

Other Websites

• Energy Division, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

• CNMI Department of Environmental Quality

• U. S. Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

• Energy Division CNMI, Project Overview, Weatherization Assistance Program

• Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicle Data Center - Federal and State Incentives and Laws

• DSIRE - Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency

• National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO)

• National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)-Issues and Research - News Highlights: Issues and Research 

- Energy

• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)-Dynamic Maps, Geographic Information System (GIS) Data and 

Analysis Tools - Maps

• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Maps, Imagery, and Publications - Maps

• Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

• Commonwealth (CNMI) Utilities Corp.

• United States Department of Health and Human Services - Administration for Children and Families - Low Income

Home Energy Assistance Program

Email suggestions for additional Northern Mariana Islands website resources to: states@eia.gov.

to tap energy 

from the islands' 

volcanic 

formations.

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