Sawnee EMC Acquires More Solar Energy

Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation is getting more solar power.

Sawnee EMC’s Board of Directors recently approved for the Corporation to participate in five new utility scale solar projects totaling 447 megawatts, the cooperative announced.

Sawnee will receive about 60 megawatts of this capacity.

These solar projects are being developed in south and east Georgia on behalf of Green Power EMC, a not-for-profit cooperative founded in 2001 by Georgia’s electric cooperatives, including Sawnee EMC. Green Power’s main focus is to solicit, screen and procure clean, renewable power projects for participating EMC members.

Sawnee EMC will not have an investment or ownership interest in any of these solar projects; the cooperative has simply agreed to purchase a portion of the solar energy generated at these five locations at a fixed price for 25 years. The facilities will be owned, operated and maintained by a division of Silicon Ranch, one of the nation’s largest independent solar power producers.

“These actions demonstrate our ongoing commitment to having a competitively priced, environmentally responsible, and diversified generation portfolio which meets the ever-changing needs for our growing membership,” Sawnee EMC President and CEO Michael A. Goodroe said in a statement.

Sawnee’s 60 megawatts represents just over 13% of the energy output of the sites.

The five projects are scheduled to start construction in 2025 and are expected to come online in stages, from the fourth quarter of 2026 through the fourth quarter of 2027.

“These solar projects will be another in a series of very attractive renewable projects,

economically priced and sustainable; that benefit both for our members and our state,” said Blake House, Sawnee’s vice president of member services.

Sawnee EMC has previously participated in 15 other renewable generation projects that included landfill gas, biomass, and numerous utility scale solar projects. With the addition of these five new solar projects, Sawnee EMC’s portfolio of renewable generation assets will grow to about 184 megawatts, enough to power over 30,000 homes.

According to Sawnee EMC, the cooperative joins renewable projects like these strategically, when it “makes long term business sense for its members.”

Sawnee EMC serves seven counties in north Georgia. In Cherokee County, it has 18,678 members.

For more information, contact Blake House, vice president of member services, at blake.house@sawnee.coop or by calling 678-455-1510.