Positions Georgia as Clean Energy Leader in the Southeast
ATLANTA–(ENEWSPF)–July 12, 2013. Yesterday the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) voted to approve Georgia Power’s proposal to retire 20% of its coal plants and added a major new program to bring 525 megawatts (MW) of solar power developments to Georgia by 2016. The Sierra Club and GreenLaw commend the Commission for its initiative, which will help stabilize customer electricity rates while creating jobs and accelerating solar development in Georgia over the next several years. Groups from across the political spectrum came together Thursday morning to rally in support of solar. Only three turned out for the anti-solar rally hosted by Americans for Prosperity. See pictures here.
“Solar is the best bet against rising electric rates — the fuel will always be free and you’ll never have to spend millions on environmental controls,” said Colleen Kiernan, director of the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “Georgia Power just filed for yet another rate increase to pay for obsolete, unnecessary coal plants, while Georgia’s Public Service Commission is providing true leadership and protecting consumers.”
Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald proposed the new solar developments as an amendment to Georgia Power’s proposed 2013 energy plan, which lays out how the utility will generate and purchase power for its customers for the next twenty years. The plan calls for 525 MW of new solar developments, to be developed in 2015 and 2016, extending and expanding last year’s Advanced Solar Initiative, which will bring 210 MW of solar power to Georgia by 2015. Georgia is fifth in the nation for solar energy potential, yet is currently ranked 38th for the total number of solar power projects installed.
“Before the Commission proposed this new solar development, Georgia Power’s long-term energy plan had no program to add clean energy,” said Ashten Bailey with GreenLaw. “With this new initiative, we’re no longer at the back of the pack and can truly compete to be a clean energy leader in the Southeast.”
Georgia Power currently has more generating capacity than is needed now or for the foreseeable future. As a result the Sierra Club, represented by GreenLaw, argued against new spending on coal units that are not needed to meet customer demand and will need new pollution control retrofits in order to meet health standards.
Today’s new solar proposal provides another opportunity for Georgia Power to completely phase out its expensive and unnecessary coal-burning units at Plant McIntosh. Nationwide, utilities are phasing out aging and dirty coal-fired power plants as clean energy powers more and more American homes and businesses. Since 2010, 149 coal-fired plants have been announced for retirement.
Source: sierraclub.org
