Plant McDonough Natural Gas Pipeline

On Nov. 29, 2006, Georgia Power announced plans to retire coal-fueled units at Plant McDonough and replace those units with three 840 megawatt natural gas units. The new units will produce enough electricity to power 625,000 homes. This change will ensure reliability of electric service to north Georgia while reducing the environmental impact of the plant on the local community.

Natural gas-fueled combined-cycle power plants offer one of the cleanest and most efficient methods of producing electricity. Combined-cycle plants can produce large amounts of electricity at high efficiencies and with low emissions.

Natural gas-fueled plants also have the capability to start up quickly to meet immediate customer demands. This feature helps operators deal with power line voltage issues - helping to prevent blackouts, such as those experienced in other parts of the United States.

With its three combined-cycle units, Plant McDonough ultimately will have less thermal impact on the river due to the use of new water cooling technology.

The process of transitioning to a natural gas plant will take several years. Plant staffing of the first combined cycle unit began in early 2009. In February 2011 the first natural gas unit will become operational. The remaining two combined cycle units are scheduled to go into service in June 2011 and June 2012.

Beginning in 2011, Plant McDonough's three natural gas-fueled units will result in the following emissions reductions:

• 95 percent reduction in Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions
• 99 percent reduction in Sulfur Dioxide (S02) emissions
• 100 percent reduction in Mercury (Hg) emissions
• 50 percent reduction in Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission rate

Project Description
In order for Plant McDonough's natural gas-fueled units to operate, Georgia Power plans to install a pipeline to transport natural gas to the plant from the Southern Natural Gas system north of Union City, Georgia. View map.

More than 95 percent of this natural gas pipeline will be located within an existing electric transmission right-of-way. The 30-inch pipe will be buried a minimum of 5 feet underground and it will be located on a route approximately 19 miles long. Also, the line will cross under the Chattahoochee River and several other small creeks, as do other pipelines throughout the state. These crossings will be bored underground at greater depths.

All environmental, cost, design and safety issues associated with constructing and building the pipeline were taken into account before the final proposal was submitted to the Georgia Public Service Commission for approval. Georgia Power will continue to work with all state agencies to ensure proper installation and safety of the pipeline.