Category Archives: Georgia Power

Southern Company “bullish” on solar

Colleen Kiernan, director of the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club, wrote in the Atlanta Business Chronicle 22 May 2011, Wind energy a viable option for Southern Co.’s portfolio:
Two years ago, Southern Co. claimed “Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are not really an option for us in the Southeast.”

Now the new CEO, Thomas Fanning, says he’s “bullish” on solar. While the new attitude on solar is refreshing,

I’ve seen this before. AustinEnergy went in one year from solar isn’t an option to Continue reading →

High-Voltage Grid of the Future — Daniel E. Frank

No new grid is needed to profit by becoming electrical generators on your own rooftops, but with a smarter grid south Georgia can export power to Atlanta and beyond.

I found this over in NO COAL PLANT IN BEN HILL COUNTY! with this comment by Dan Corrie:

This Georgia Tech announcement emphasizes how quickly technology is changing toward healthier energy production and away from coal. I would hate to see our South Georgia stuck with a contaminating, health-harming coal plant for 50 years while so much progress would be going on during that time.
The article by Daniel E. Frank dated 18 May 2011 appears on a law firm’s page, Georgia Tech Clean Energy Speaker Series: “High-Voltage Grid of the Future”: Continue reading →

Putting power on the grid at Wiregrass Solar Commissioning

Congratulations on the commissioning ceremony for Wiregrass Solar!


Allan Ricketts (Acting Executive Director, VLCIA), Georgia Power rep., Roy Copeland (VLCIA Board member), Crawford Powell (Lowndes County Commissioner), John J. Fretti (Mayor of Valdosta), Therrell “Sonny” Murphy (Chairman of Sterling Planet), Tim Golden (Georgia State Senator), Pete Marte (CEO of Hannah Solar).

Continue reading →

Using oil to move an automobile down the street … not something you’re going to see in 20 to 25 years. —Pete Marte

Pete Marte of Hannah Solar predicted that within a generation cars will run on electricity generated by solar arrays like the one commissioned last Thursday.

Col. Allan Ricketts introduced Pete Marte, CEO of Hannah Solar.

Here’s Part 1 of 3: Continue reading →

Why solar cuts it better than any other energy source

Solar power is the fastest growing industry in the world, and south Georgia is an excellent place for it to grow and produce jobs, with plenty of rooftops and parking lots for solar panels.

This is despite the misinformation people with vested interests in other energy sources put out about solar power. After Dr. Matthew Richard made some points about solar vs. biomass, one of the members of the 6 December 2010 panel that VLCIA spent more than $17,000 to assemble to defend biomass responded that he was in favor of the nearby 300kWatt solar plant, but: well, I’m going to interleave his buts with what he’s ignoring. Continue reading →

Particulate matter is a killer. –Lisa Jackson, EPA, 17 March 2011

Listening to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson about EPA’s proposed new mercury rules, for me, the live feed on facebook did not work, but the one on whitehouse.gov did. A few quotes:
Particulate matter is a killer. We know it results in hundreds of thousands of deaths.

That matches some local concerns in Lowndes County.

How much of a killer? Continue reading →

Georgia Power plans to decertify two coal plants

According to gapower’s own press release:
ATLANTA, March 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Georgia Power expects to request approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission to decertify two coal-generating units totaling 569 megawatts, the company announced Wednesday.

The request to decertify units 1 and 2 at Plant Branch in Putnam Co. will be included in Georgia Power’s updated Integrated Resource Plan filing with the commission in late summer. The company expects to ask for decertification of the units as of the effective dates of the Georgia Multipollutant Rule, which are currently anticipated to be Dec. 31, 2013 for unit 1 and Oct. 1, 2013 for unit 2.

The decision to decertify the units is based on a need to install environmental controls to meet a variety of existing and expected environmental regulations.

“After an extensive analysis of the cost to comply with environmental regulations, we have determined the continued operation of these units would be uneconomical for our customers,” said Georgia Power President and CEO Paul Bowers. “This decision is in keeping with our focus to provide affordable and reliable electricity for our customers.”

This matches with a report from last July that gapower was turning away from coal. And they suspended work on Plant Branch a year ago. Unfortunately, mostly they’re turning to natural gas and nuclear. Continue reading →