Experts say power plant updates not needed in Georgia Power’s new energy plan. Here’s why

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Environmental experts say energy giant Georgia Power is setting back the clock on climate action, investing more into old power plants by updating combustion turbines, even though Georgia Power says the move is necessary to accommodate short-term energy demand.

Plus, opponents say the combustion turbines will cost consumers through bill hikes, though Georgia Power contends rates will drop.

Instead, experts recommend opportunities to continue to expand battery storage.

The Georgia Power 2023 Integrated Resource Plan update requests three “advanced class, duel-fuel” combustion turbine engines at Plant Yates in Coweta County. The Yates power plant pollutes natural gas (methane), the most potent greenhouse gas. These updates at Yates could create up to 1,410 megawatts of generation. The Integrated Resource Plan is a long-term plan that Georgia Power must provide to the Public Service Commission, typically every three years. The last one was in 2022.

Testimonies from energy experts from the PSC hearings say there is a way to meet these massive energy demands without upgrading existing power plants, which once installed will have a lifetime of 46 years.

Chelsea Hotaling, a resource plan and load forecasting expert with Energy Futures Group, testified in February on behalf of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light and Southern Environmental Law Center. That was mid-way through three months of PSC hearings that began in January.

Hotaling found Georgia Power’s anticipated growth of 3,141 MW by 2028 can be achieved through expanding Battery Energy Storage Systems.

The first Battery Energy Storage System in Georgia is just north of Columbus, is at 65 MW, and is set to come online any day. Current projections suggest BESS capacity will be near 1,000 MW over the next few years in Georgia.

“The Yates combustion turbines are not necessary to support Georgia Power’s projected capacity needs between now and 2028, even if the commission uses Georgia Power’s extreme growth estimates,” Hotaling said during her testimony to the commission in February. “BESS are sufficient to meet Georgia Power’s capacity needs between now and 2028, and they can be competitively procured. I recommend that the commission direct Georgia Power to use an expedited BESS RFP for at least 1,410 as soon as possible.”

Hotaling said the commission should defer the consideration of combustion turbines at Yates until the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan.

The U.S. joined a new methane reduction goal created at COP28, meaning it would reduce organic methane by 30% by 2030.

In 2023, University of Massachusetts ranked Southern Company, Georgia Power’s parent company, the second-highest greenhouse gas polluter in the country–based on 2021 data.

When asked why Georgia Power would continue to use natural gas or oil for electricity, spokesperson for Georgia Power, John Kraft, responded with the plans for renewable transition and adding renewables.

“Based on the company’s energy expansion plan in the ‘2023 IRP Update’ the company anticipates adding a total of 10,000 MW of new renewable resources by 2035, which is nearly double the 6,000 MW projected in the 2022 IRP,” Kraft said in an email.

Georgia Power Chief Financial Officer Aaron Abramovitz testified Wednesday the company is doubling down on commitments to transition to cleaner resources, despite the Integrated Resource Plan that requests the 1,410 MW of needed energy to be made up by power from Plant Yates.

“The capacity resources we are requesting in our 2023 IRP Update will ensure that we can continue to serve our existing and growing customer base with the reliability our customers value and expect, while continuing to support Georgia’s growing and thriving economy,” he said.

He went on to say, “the stipulated agreement will place downward pressure on rates for all customers.”

The Southern Environmental Law Center found that residential bills will jump $44 a month, including $16 to pay for spikes in methane gas and coal cost. Georgia Power approximates $250 million in expenses to develop these combustion turbine updates at Plant Yates.

“Not only is expanding dirty, and unpredictably priced fossil fuels on the table, this agreement would allow Georgia Power to bypass important steps to protect its customers from rising energy bills,” Jennifer Whitfield, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said in a statement.

The PSC is scheduled to vote on whether it will approve Georgia Power’s new plan April 16.

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