The Georgia Public Service Commission last week approved five new power purchase agreements (PPAs) for Georgia Power, adding more than 1,000 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale solar capacity across the state.
The projects, totaling 1,068 MW, were selected through the company’s 2023 Clean and Renewable Energy Subscription (CARES) request for proposals, part of the utility’s 2022 integrated resource plan. Each facility will be built and operated by third-party developers under long-term PPAs.
The CARES program is aimed at large commercial and industrial customers that want to match their energy use with renewable generation. Subscriptions provide customers with a share of production from participating facilities.
The approved projects include:
- Mitchell County: 260 MW, 25-year PPA
- Coffee County: 200 MW, 30-year PPA
- Wilkinson County: 183 MW paired with a 91.5 MW battery system, 20-year PPA
- Jefferson County: 200 MW, 20-year PPA
- Laurens County: 225 MW, 20-year PPA
Georgia Power has issued a follow-up solicitation, the CARES 2025 RFP, seeking up to 2,000 MW of additional solar or solar-plus-storage resources. Those projects could begin operation as early as 2028.
The utility’s latest integrated resource plan, approved in July, calls for as much as 4,000 MW of new renewable resources by 2035. If fully realized, Georgia Power’s renewable portfolio could grow to about 11,000 MW by 2035, compared with about 3,300 MW online today.
Originally published in Factor This Power Engineering.
