SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands, June 26 (UPI) -- The House of Representatives of an island group in Micronesia has approved legislation encouraging the use of solar energy by private homeowners.
The bill encourages all new home loan applicants in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands -- an island group near Guam -- to voluntarily incorporate "solar thermal technologies and/or water collection and storage systems into new home developments," according to a report in the islands' Saipan Tribune newspaper.
It also proposes that the Northern Marianas Housing Corp. institute a separate loan program, to help out people who want to install solar or water collection technology, the report said.
"There are various products on the market that use thermal energy and can be mounted on the roof of a building or in some other sunny location," the bill's sponsors said via the report.
"The legislature finds that the commonwealth homeowner stands to benefit from the implementation of solar energy usage by including such technologies into the development of new homes," the report quoted the bill as saying.
