Guam 

Territory Profile and Energy Estimates

Profile Analysis Print Territory Energy Profile

(overview, data, & analysis)

Last Updated: December 18, 2013

Overview

Guam, the largest island in Micronesia, lies in the Pacific Ocean about three-fourths of the

way from Hawaii to the Philippines. Surrounded by coral reef, it sits on the edge of the

Mariana Trench and its Challenger Deep, the deepest known place on earth. Guam, like the

neighboring Mariana Islands, is the top of an undersea mountain, part of a volcanic subsea

chain stretching northwest toward Japan. Just 30 miles long and 4 to 12 miles wide, Guam

has nearly three-and-one-half times the land area of Washington, DC. Guam has a tropical

marine climate that is warm and humid with little seasonal temperature variation. The dry

season runs from December to June, and the rainy season runs from July to November. The

wet season can bring destructive typhoons.

The island has no conventional energy resources and meets nearly all of its energy needs,

including electricity, with petroleum products shipped in by tanker. Guam's population is

about 160,000, plus 12,000 to 14,000 military personnel and their dependents. Tourism and

the U.S. military are the two pillars of Guam's economy. Pending military plans to move some personnel from Okinawa to Joint Region

Marianas on Guam could bring a substantial influx of people to the island. The military already accounts for more than one-fifth of

Guam's energy consumption. Per capita energy consumption on Guam is about one-fourth of the U.S. average, and the island's energy

intensity is typically about half of the U.S. average.

Petroleum

Guam has no petroleum production or refineries. All petroleum products are shipped in through its only port, located at Apra. About half

of petroleum consumed is residual fuel oil, used to generate electricity. Motor gasoline and jet fuel each make up about one-fifth of

consumption. Diesel fuel and propane make up the balance of petroleum consumed. Guam's petroleum consumption per capita varies

by year but recently has averaged about the same as U.S. consumption per capita.

Natural gas

Guam does not produce or consume natural gas. As part of its integrated resource planning, the Guam Power Authority (GPA) has

proposed converting some older generating plants to use natural gas, shipped to the island as liquefied natural gas (LNG), instead of

petroleum fuels. The conversion would diversify GPA's fuels and enable the utility to comply with stricter environmental requirements.

Guam has few

energy resources

and imports

petroleum

products to meet

almost all its

energy needs.

U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and... http://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.cfm?sid=gq

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Coal

Guam does not produce or consume coal.

Electricity

Electricity is provided by the GPA, a public corporation overseen by the elected Consolidated Commission on Utilities (CCU) and

regulated by the Guam Public Utilities Commission (PUC). GPA owns and manages the island's power grid. GPA's electricity is

generated primarily from No. 6 residual fuel oil, with a small amount from No. 2 distillate. Some hotels also independently generate their

own power and hot water.

In the 1990s, facing the need for major reinvestment in its base-load generating facilities,

GPA began contracting with independent power providers to upgrade and operate the

island's power generators. All GPA base-load generating facilities are now managed by

outside firms under long-term contracts. The GPA's nominal generating capacity is about

twice its historic peak load of 280 megawatts, giving the island grid backup capacity.

The high cost of petroleum fuels has spurred electricity conservation among Guam

consumers, producing a downward trend in consumption after 2008. Electricity costs about

2.5 times more on Guam than on the U.S. mainland, although that is still less than on many

Pacific islands. The commercial sector is the largest electricity consumer, using more than

one-third of all power. That sector includes hotels and restaurants serving tourists. The

residential sector consumes three-tenths of electricity, and the U.S. military, one-fifth. Facing

the high cost of petroleum fuels, GPA, the CCU, and the Guam PUC have been exploring

possible future alternatives including LNG and small-scale nuclear power. GPA is also funding energy efficiency and demand-side

management programs.

Renewable energy

Substituting sustainable local energy resources for imported petroleum is a goal of Guam's economic development strategy. Multiple

opportunities for energy efficiency measures and renewable energy applications are being studied. Little renewable energy has been

available on the island beyond a few solar photovoltaic (PV) units used for cell phone towers and remote weather stations, solar thermal

units used for water heating, and a few small (less than 5 kilowatts) wind generators operated by commercial and residential users.

In 2008, Guam's legislature set a renewable portfolio goal of having renewable sources

provide 5% of net electricity sales by 2015 and 25% of sales by 2035. Any new base-load

electrical generating plant must obtain 10% of its total generating capacity from alternative

energy sources. Solar PV, wind, biomass, wave energy, and ocean thermal energy are all

recognized as renewable sources. Guam's building code has required new homes to be

constructed ready for solar hot water heater installation since 2000. Military bases are adding

solar arrays and solar water heaters to their living quarters.

The Guam Power Authority released its first renewables solicitation in 2011, and its first solar

generating project, the 20-megawatt Quantum Guam Power, was under construction in 2013.

A second project, Pacific Green Resources' 15-megawatt combined solar PV and wind

project, was negotiated, and further renewables projects of all types were being solicited. Guam has substantial wind potential but also

unique siting issues. Guam is seismically active and is in the Pacific's "Typhoon Alley," so wind turbines must be engineered to resist

both earthquakes and typhoon-force winds. Wind turbine siting must consider impacts on military facilities, endangered species, and

other local environmental concerns. Another challenge is maintaining stability of the island's small electric grid given the variability of

wind power.

The Guam Power

Authority is

considering

converting costly

petroleum-fired

generating

stations to LNG.

Wind turbines

require special

engineering to

cope with Guam's

earthquakes and

typhoons.

U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and... http://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.cfm?sid=gq

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Guam has limited known geothermal resources, and using its principal biomass, municipal solid waste, as an energy source has not

been extensively explored. Two ocean-based technologies being investigated are Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (creating

electricity from the temperature differences between ocean layers) and Sea Water Air Conditioning (using cold ocean water for chillers).

Both technologies would involve piping to access deep ocean layers, and applications may be limited by piping impacts on the fragile

coral reef surrounding Guam.

l

U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and... http://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.cfm?sid=gq

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