The Northern Marianas will be provided with US$1.3 million to install solar power systems on homes in Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
The territory's delegate to the US Congress, Gregorio Kilili Sablan, says the funds will come from a Department of Agriculture fund to assist remote areas with very high electricity costs, such as the CNMI.
The money will go to a Saipan-based company, Pacific Wind and Solar, to install solar arrays on 82 homes.
Each home will have twelve 250-watt commercial-grade solar panels, which will generate about three kilowatts of power - about 70 percent of the household's electricity needs.
The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, meanwhile, will also receive US$382,000 to buy 63 pole-mounted transformers.
