Georgia Power Co. will add 1,600 megawatts of renewable energy to its portfolio by 2021 under an agreement approved Thursday by the state Public Service Commission (PSC).
That’s three times what the Atlanta-based utility proposed in January when it filed its 2016 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with the PSC. Georgia Power submits an IRP every three years outlining the mix of energy sources it intends to rely on to meet customer demands during the next two decades.
The stepped-up commitment Georgia Power negotiated with the PSC staff drew praise from environmental advocates.
“More renewable energy means more savings for customers,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “This plan will set Georgia on a new path forward to grow jobs and compete.”
The commission approved the IRP 4-1 after rejecting an amendment calling for even more renewable energy projects.
“We’re the fastest-growing solar state in the nation,” said Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, who proposed the amendment and voted against the IRP after his change was defeated. “This is reasonable. It stretches out for quite a few years.”
But the other four commissioners argued the agreement between Georgia Power and the agency’s staff already was strong and that to expand solar further at this time could drive up customer rates.
“When we started this solar program, we said we were going to do it in baby steps, [not] bold giant leaps,” Commissioner Doug Everett said.
“Staff fought pretty hard and got a lot of solar into it,” commission ChairmanChuck Eaton added.
Of the initial commitment of 1,200 megawatts of new renewable energy, 1,050 megawatts will come from large utility-scale projects, while 150 megawatts will be in the form of distributed generation, typically small rooftop solar panels on homes or businesses. Up to 300 megawatts of that power will come from wind energy projects.
Another 200 megawatts will come from “self-build” renewable projects, with all but 75 of those megawatts to be drawn from projects at various Georgia military bases.
Source: bizjournals.com
