Georgia’s electric cooperatives are following the example of Georgia Power and utilities nationwide by adding more fossil fuel-powered generation to meet a projected surge in demand from new factories and data centers.
The trend threatens to undermine efforts to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions as the Earth experiences an unprecedented streak of record-high monthly temperatures .
Tucker-based Oglethorpe Power, which is co-owned by 38 smaller cooperatives in the state serving mostly rural areas, announced it is planning to add nearly 2,000 megawatts of natural gas-powered generation over the next six years. The gas-powered capacity is enough to provide electricity to roughly 700,000 homes.
That’s more than the approximately 1,500 megawatts of solar capacity the same EMCs own through a different company, Green Power EMC.
Heather Teilhet, a spokeswoman for Oglethorpe Power, said by 2030, when planned natural gas and solar projects are online, the EMCs’ collective portfolio will be 42% emission-free through nuclear and renewable generation; natural gas will represent 52% and coal 6%.
“Natural gas is the only resource that 1) can be built within the time frame and budget required to meet today’s rising electricity demand, and 2) provides dispatchable, baseload energy round-the-clock,” Teilhet said in an email. “Solar power is intermittent, and battery storage technology is not yet a viable solution to fuel our members’ energy demands, round-the-clock.”
Earlier this year, Georgia Power, which is regulated differently than cooperatives, received approval to add 1,400 megawatts of new natural gas-powered generation and to continue buying electricity from a coal-fired power plant that had been slated to close. Georgia Power also received approval to expand its portfolio of battery storage systems.
Some conservation, consumer advocate and business groups have been critical of utilities for doubling down on fossil fuels. They say utilities could meet the projected load growth by investing in regional transmission, renewable energy storage and demand-side efficiency.
“It is absolutely clear that we have to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels, not be building more of them and locking them in for decades to come,” said Brionté McCorkle of Georgia Conservation Voters, an advocacy group.
In addition to the climate impacts, critics say natural gas is a bad investment, pointing to volatile fuel prices and new regulation on air pollution from fossil fuel-powered plants . The new regulations are expected to effectively end coal as a fuel source for generating electricity and limit natural gas — especially in new construction. By 2032, new gas generators like the ones planned by Oglethorpe would be limited to running 20% to 40% of the time without advances in carbon capture technology.
Oglethorpe and other utilities appear to be hedging on those rules, which face legal challenges from some states, including Georgia .
“If the current EPA rule stands, and if carbon capture technology becomes viable and affordable, our units could convert,” Teilhet said. “In the meantime we are taking the responsible steps to meet Georgia’s growing energy demands now and keep the lights on in rural Georgia.”
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy slammed the utility for moving forward with the projects.
“Unfortunately, if these proposed fossil fuel projects do get built, Oglethorpe customers will likely be paying for decades for power plants that cannot be used to their fullest and are unlikely to show up during extreme weather,” the advocacy group said in a statement.
Utilities have linked the projected rise in demand for power to new manufacturing plants and data centers. But many of those companies have their own clean energy goals and have expressed alarm at the slew of new natural gas projects.
“The first thing we hear is serious concern,” said Katie Southworth of the Clean Energy Buyers Association, which represents some of the biggest energy customers in the world, including Google, Amazon, Samsung, McDonald’s and Lockheed Martin.
“The next thing is, ‘Did the utility consider how I was going to meet my goals?’ and the answer is often just no, they hadn’t looked at it at all,” she added.
Some of that could change. In May, federal regulators issued new rules for how utilities plan regional transmission , requiring them to include specific criteria such as corporate clean energy commitments. The rules also allow the federal government to grant permits for new transmission in high-priority corridors if states do not.
“A lot of the need for new generation that you see from utilities across the region can actually be addressed by the transmission system,” Southworth said. “In the Southeast, we have very high excess or insurance policy reserve margins, excess capacity, compared to other regions in the U.S., and that’s because we don’t have this kind of sharing and regional grid development.”
This coverage is supported by a partnership with Green South Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. You can learn more and support our climate reporting by donating at ajc.com/donate/climate/
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