A company that was awarded a power purchase agreement by the American Samoa Power Authority (ASPA), but then terminated the agreement, has filed a notice of an administrative claim against ASPA —as a precursor to filing a lawsuit against the government.
The law firm of Dentons US LLP of Hawaii, one of whose attorneys is a former Assistant Attorney General licensed to practice here, Sean Morrison, sent a notice of claim dated March 6 to Attorney General Fainuulelei Falefatu Alailima Utu.
The firm is representing Christian Thunken and American Samoa Renewable Energy and Mobility LLC (ASREM), an assignee in interest to Green Globe Solutions American Samoa.
Thunken and Green Global claim that, in 2016, the late Executive Director of ASPA Utu Abe Malae requested a renewable wind solution for the territory. In response, they prepared a project and bid which resulted in a the signing of a Power Purchase Agreement between ASPA and Green Globe Solutions on July 17, 2019.
The proposal had nearly 600 pages of proprietary designs for a wind power project to be located in Aasu.
According to the notice of claim, the company’s performance of the contract was subject to certain conditions, all of which required Green global to obtain financing.
It says, Green Global spent considerable amount of money and delivered detailed plans and studies to ASPA for developing a 42 Megawatt pant wind project, which at the time cost $100 million. The company also installed a met tower in May 2019, that collected and provided to ASPA wind data at the site for over three years.
A ground breaking for the project was held in October 2019 at the ASPA compound.
But securing financing was found to be nearly impossible. According to the notice of claim, ASPA’s current Director Wallon Young blamed Green Global for failing to find financing and assigned the Power Purchase Agreement to a Texas-based company called Raykon in November of 2019. When Raykon failed to secure financing, says the notice of claim, Thunken helped ASPA find a new party, Nippon Koei to take on the PPA.
An agreement between ASPA and Nippon Koei was signed on November 23, 2021.
But while ASPA has tried to move the project away from Aasu to west of Aoloau, it has been stalled due to land issues.
Green Global alleges that Young and the Chairman of the ASPA Board, Fonoti Perelini, withheld vital information regarding the wind project that directly impacted its ability to find investors.
Further, Thunken and Green Global allege that ASPA gave their proprietary project development plants to Tutuila Wind Energy LLC—the company set up by Nippon Koei, now trying to set up a wind farm in Aoloau.
The notice of claim states that in January 24 of last year, Thunken, at the request of Fono members, provided an analysis of the wind power project and general progress of ASPA’s efforts in developing renewable energy.
Its alleged that one lawmaker shared Thunken’s report with the ASPA CEO who lashed out with a derogatory email, alleging that Thunken was “a conman with no money” that wanted a role with the new independent power producer, Tutuila Wind Energy. but “he doesn’t know squat.”
The notice of claim alleges defamation, fraud in the inducement and unjust enrichment.
Thunken and Green Global request, among other things, that the ASPA parties cease and desist from making defamatory statements and false accusations against them; compensate Thunken for half a million dollars for lost profits and lost opportunity to work with ASG because of the defamation; compensation of $1.2 million for past development work on the wind project being used by ASPA, $8 million for lost income, a 2% equity if the Tutuila Wind Energy project proceeds; and if it doesn’t proceed, that their company be given the right of first refusal.
