Daily Express – Western Pacific Island News – Solar lights vandalism affects Saipan’s safety and sustainable development efforts

Many in the community are deeply troubled by recent vandalism of solar lighting facilities across the islands. Not only do these incidents cause significant damage to public property, they undermine efforts by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to enhance community safety and sustainability. Most recently, the Tanapag Beach Pavilion was vandalized: the inverter and deep battery storage unit atop the pavilion were taken, causing a power outage and loss of power to the site. Solar lighting plays a vital role in the community by providing a sustainable, energy-efficient solution that helps achieve our environmental goals. In addition to being a cost-saving measure for the utility, the deliberate and malicious targeting of these facilities not only hinders efforts toward a cleaner environment, but also undermines the safety measures these photovoltaic lighting provide.