By Rico Lizama

Energy isn’t just a technical topic on Guam: it’s personal, talked about over kitchen tables, power bills, and weekend gatherings. As the Perceptions of Ocean Energy (POE) project winds down, I’ve been looking back at where this journey started: face-to-face with the people who call this island home. With this community-first mindset, between August and December 2024, I set up outreach tables across Guam to showcase our research and hear directly from community members about the future of ocean energy.

From our social media accounts to the center courts of Agana Shopping Center and Micronesia Mall, the online survey quickly expanded its reach and gained momentum. I encountered numerous Guam residents from all walks of life who were perplexed, fascinated, or enlightened by the idea of potentially extracting energy from the ocean.

While my outreach table became a hub for conversation, many residents took the community-wide survey on their mobile devices, carefully answering each question to the best of their ability.

Participants included, but were not limited to, a public school teacher, a Guam Air National Guard member, a GovGuam retiree, a University of Guam freshman majoring in biology, a small business owner with a newborn baby, and a local sea captain who owned a large fishing charter boat.

Within that small window of time, I interacted with a growing cast of people and heard various perspectives that shed light on different issues affecting Guam’s energy landscape and beyond. From climate change to expensive power bills to cultural preservation, energy resilience remained a running topic. By the end of the survey period, around 100 participants were randomly selected through a raffle to receive a $50 gift certificate to local grocers.

After months of data analysis and interpretation, the results were in. Among survey respondents, the majority supported the development of different ocean energy technologies, with wave energy receiving the highest level of support and Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) receiving the lowest.

Of course, respondents also raised concerns about potential impacts on ocean wildlife and recreation, the use of taxpayer money, workforce development, and much more. These conversations continued beyond survey outreach and into meetings, town halls, and other public events.

Through this project, we helped raise awareness of ocean energy technologies by engaging with community members and providing an opportunity for their perspectives to inform future decision-making. A public survey report summarizes these findings and is now available for the community to access through the UOG Center for Island Sustainability & Sea Grant website.

Several public events are taking place on Saturday, October 10, including the 2nd Annual Energy Expo at the Guam Premier Outlets food court from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. UOG CIS & Sea Grant will be there to showcase our program efforts, including the launch of the Guam Energy Education Repository (G.E.E.R.), a digital library that brings together energy documents, policies, reports, and projects from local and federal organizations to increase transparency and awareness of Guam’s evolving energy landscape.