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State Regulators Approve Georgia Power's 2019 Energy Plan

Georgia Power

State regulators today voted to approve Georgia Power’s newest long-term energy plan, formalizing the utility’s retirement of two polluting coal plants and adding 2 gigawatts of solar resources, enough to power more than 200,000 homes.

The Public Service Commission unanimously backed Georgia Power’s Integrated Resource Plan, which shows how the state’s largest utility will provide electricity to its more than 2.5 million customers over the next 20 years.

As part of the final plan, Georgia Power will retire four coal-burning units at Plant Hammond near Rome, and one coal unit at Plant McIntosh near Rincon, west of Savannah. Utility staff did an in-depth analysis of the coal units and found that keeping them online doesn’t make economic sense.

A news release by Sierra Club states the environmental group agrees with Georgia Power’s findings, but says the state is falling behind in solar energy.

The Sierra Club states Georgia was once one of the fastest growing states in the nation for solar, but has started to slip. The Peach State’s installed solar capacity has fallen out of the top 10, behind Southeastern neighbors North Carolina and Florida.

The plan also calls for Georgia Power’s planned investment to own and operate 80 megawatts (MW) of battery energy storage and 72 percent more renewable generation by 2024.

Additionally, the company is expanding assistance to income-qualified customers by increasing the annual funding for the HopeWorks low-income weatherization program by more than 60 percent.

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