Renewable Energy in Georgia

Georgia Power has over 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable generation (mostly hydro) and is working to add additional capacity from renewable generation sources.

Since 2005, Georgia Power has executed long-term contracts for almost 150 MVV of capacity from new renewable generation sources and has received notices of intent from developers to enter into long-term contracts for an additional 450 MW of capacity over the next six years.

Georgia Power expenditures for capacity and energy from these renewable generation projects may be more than $1 billion over the next 10 years if all of the projects prove viable.

Georgia Power also received PSC approval to pursue up to three new renewable projects of not more than 30 MW each so long as those projects are at or below avoided costs.

• In its early years, Georgia Power's generation portfolio consisted entirely of hydro electric plants, which are still providing low-cost, clean renewable energy to our customers.
• There are few, if any, new large-scale hydro electric sites available in the Southeast, and there are large demands for water resources in Georgia's growing communities.

• Biomass (crops or wood waste) is the highest potential renewable source in the Southeast.
• Georgia Power has contracts with seven qualified biomass/renewable facilities that will generate 136 MW of capacity (enough renewable energy to power more than 34,000 homes).
• Georgia Power also buys energy from eight other renewable sources when available (QFs).
• Georgia Power is studying the viability of converting one of its existing coal-fueled plants (Mitchell) to biomass, which is situated in an attractive biomass area of the state.

• In 2006, Georgia Power launched its Green Energy program, offering customers the opportunity to purchase Green Energy from a new landfill gas generating plant at the DeKalb County landfill.
• Landfill gas is about one-half methane, which has 20 times the global warming potential of CO2.
• This gas typically escapes from municipal landfills into the atmosphere and can create a hazard. Therefore, landfills have begun to burn the gas in reciprocating engines to produce power.

• Cloud cover and night skies limit solar availability in the Southeast, so solar photovoltaics are not currently cost-effective for grid-connected applications in the Southeast.
• Favorable areas for solar are in the arid Southwest (Arizona and Southern California).
• In the Southeast, it would take almost twice as much solar capacity (and cost) as in the arid Southwest to produce the same amount of energy from solar.
• Current cost estimates for large-scale solar in Georgia range from 35 to 40 cents per kilowatt-hour. Georgia Power residential customers currently pay about 9.4 cents per kilowatt-hour.

• Because of the lack of steady winds in most of the Southeast, wind generation is generally not cost-effective for grid-connected applications in the Southeast.
• Favorable areas for wind generation are the middle and western parts of the United States (Texas, Oklahoma, the Dakotas, California, and Oregon).
• In the Southeast, it would take almost 1.5 times as much wind capacity (and cost) as in the more favorable areas of the country to produce the same amount of energy from wind generation.
• Southern Company joined the Georgia Institute of Technology to study the viability of offshore wind turbines in the Southeast. The study found economic challenges, technology limitations and regulatory restrictions that will make development of offshore wind projects difficult in the Southeast.