Georgia Power to expand renewables and storage, retire coal-fired units
The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) this week increased the new amount of renewable energy in Georgia Power Company’s 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) from 1,000 megawatts (MW) to 2,210 MW, the largest increase in renewable energy in Georgia’s history.
Georgia Power had initially recommended adding 1,000 MW of renewable energy, most of it in the form of utility-scale solar. The commission originally stipulated 1,650 MW but PSC Chairman Lauren “Bubba” McDonald motioned for an additional increase to 2,210 MW — which was unanimously agreed upon by the PSC.
“I determined Georgia has the ability to add significantly more renewable energy and solar energy using a market-based approach without any upward pressure on the rate payers and no state subsidies,” McDonald said. “Solar, combined with nuclear power when Vogtle 3 and 4 go online, will give Georgians clean, reliable energy for years to come.”
By the end of 2019, Georgia should have 2,400 MW of solar and other renewable energy on the grid. The 2,210 MW approved Tuesday will nearly double Georgia’s level of renewable energy by the end of 2022, according to the PSC.
Total renewable resources online, both owned and through PPAs, is 1,568 MW, which includes 960 MW of solar, 250 MW of wind, and 358 MW of biomass, according to Adrienne Tickle, media relations representative with Georgia Power.
“We are projecting that by the end of 2019 through Georgia Power programs, we will have approximately 1,730 MW,” said Tickle. “With today’s addition, Georgia Power will continue as a leader in solar energy production and grow its renewable generation by more than 72 percent to 5,390 MW by 2024 and increase the company’s total renewable capacity to 22 percent of its already diverse portfolio.”
Those numbers come with an asterisk because Georgia Power purchases only the null energy output from renewable facilities, but the owners of those renewable energy credits is retained by the owner.
Georgia Power will also be adding wind and biomass, as well as moving forward with five hydro projects, including the Terrora, Tugalo, Bartletts Ferry, Nacoochee, and Oliver generating facilities. The majority of their renewable generation continues to be solar.
“Among nearly 200 megawatts (MW) of Georgia Power-owned solar facilities under development, ranking and preliminary bid evaluation is underway following our Request for Proposals for 540 MW to fulfill the remaining capacity of the Renewable Energy Development Initiative (REDI) Utility Scale procurement,” Tickle said. “In addition, other initiatives continue, such as enrolling eligible customers in the company’s Community Solar program served by a two megawatt solar facility near Athens, with 6 megawatts of additional facilities under development near Savannah and Augusta.”
Georgia Power will also be adding 50 MW of biomass and 80 MW of battery energy storage, the latter of which the company will own and operate.
“Working with the Georgia PSC, we are positioning Georgia as a leader in the Southeast in battery energy storage, which is critical to growing and maximizing the value of renewable energy for customers as we increase our renewable generation by 72 percent by 2024,” Allen Reaves, Georgia Power’s senior vice president and senior production officer, said in a written statement.
Georgia Power will request bids for the battery storage component at some point in the future.
In the IRP, the commission also voted to end operations at five coal-fired units, including four units at Plant Hammond and one unit at Plant McIntosh. The move will reduce the company’s coal-fired generation capacity to approximately half of what it was in 2005, Georgia Power said. The company also will not renew its operating licenses with Estatoah, Langdale, and Riverview hydro dams.
The additional renewable energy also adopted modifications to the original proposed stipulation, including increasing Distributed Generation solar (DG) from 150 MW to 210 MW. In addition, Georgia Power was directed to create a pilot project to utilize used lithium ion batteries for a grid-connected charging system for electric vehicles (EV).
