Georgia Power files its integrated resource plan (IRP) every three years. “We question the need for new gas capacity and are skeptical of whether cleaner, more affordable alternatives were adequately considered.” Every 3 years “We welcome Georgia Power’s proposed coal retirements, but by proposing to replace coal with more than 2,300 MW of new gas capacity, we don’t see how this aligns with Southern Co.’s plans to be net zero by 2050,” said Jill Kysor, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. Like most other electric companies, Georgia Power argues that it needs the additional gas generation to support the amount of renewables it wants to add to the power grid.Ĭlean energy advocates aren’t buying the argument that the utility needs any more gas-fired generation at all, however. That alternative is to enter into six long-term purchase power agreements for a total capacity of 2,356 MW with Southern Power, Southern Co.’s wholesale power unit. “Right now, we see this as the best alternative to replace the energy that was made available through the coal units.” “There’s some pricing advantages with the at this time,” he said, acknowledging the company may decide later to build natural gas plants. The decision is an economic one, according to Womack. What’s notable about Georgia Power is it does not plan to build any natural gas plants right now, choosing to buy the electricity from elsewhere. The steps are in line with a nationwide trend of electric companies replacing coal plants with renewables and natural gas. That means any shift in its electricity mix will affect carbon emissions in Georgia and within Southern’s power grid. Georgia Power is the largest electric company in the Peach State as well as the biggest in Southern’s utility system, which stretches across much of the Southeast. “We’re making a transition to a larger renewable fleet with a high focus on protecting the environment and supporting the communities and customers that we serve.” “We feel like this process affords us the opportunity to tell the story about how Georgia Power is preparing for this new energy landscape and how we transition the fleet and enhance our grid,” Georgia Power CEO Chris Womack said in an interview with E&E News.

The 200-page document outlines the utility’s continued transition into one that is less reliant on baseload fossil fuel generation and more on distributed generation. The company delivered its highly anticipated 20-year-long-term energy plan to state utility regulators yesterday afternoon. For context, once two additional nuclear reactors at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle start producing electricity, the total 4,536 MW from four units there will power up to 1 million homes. It wants to replace that electricity with a combination of renewables as well as 2,356 MW of natural-gas-fired power that it plans to buy from power plants that are already running. Georgia Power plans to shutter 12 coal units, totaling about 3,500 megawatts, by 2028. Other steps at Georgia Power include extending the life of hydropower units and Plant Hatch nuclear reactors, adding 1,000 megawatts of energy storage, and revamping energy efficiency and solar programs. The moves, which reflect the electric company’s continued transition to cleaner fuel sources, would help Southern achieve a net-zero carbon goal by 2050 for electricity. Southern Co.’s Georgia Power utility announced a plan yesterday to double its renewable energy footprint by 2035 as it maps out a path to close the rest of its coal fleet in that time.

Georgia power utility bill