Georgia SEIA meets with Georgia Congressional Delegation
Dear Georgia SEIA Members and Friends,
Welcome to the Georgia SEIA Newsletter network! We want to keep everyone up to date on the latest news, events and policy advances that impact the solar energy industry. Please see the below articles and information that we hope can be helpful. The solar industry has come a long way in Georgia over the last seven years. Georgia SEIA thanks all the solar employees, clean energy advocates and policy makers who have invested their time, talent and influence to advance the solar industry. Solar energy has made the lives of Georgians better through a more diverse energy profile that has lowered rates for consumers and increased the security of our power grid. Please click on the red links for full articles and hyperlinks for policy information. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any concerns or questions.
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- Pete Corbett, President GASEIA
Conservatives for Clean Energy State Director Tyler Adams, SolAmerica Energy CEO Tully Blalock, Congressman Buddy Carter, Georgia SEIA consultant Steve Butler, and CRES President Heather Reams.
May 15, 2024 - Atlanta, Georgia - Georgia SEIA met with several members of the Georgia congressional delegation to discuss community solar on April 30 - May 1, 2024. The discussion revolved around the economic benefits of community solar and Georgia’s increased demand and energy shortage. Also discussed was the shift towards domestic sourcing of solar panels.
SolAmerica Energy CEO Tully Blalock said, “I was impressed with the knowledge of our delegation members and staff around community solar and its potential impact to Georgia.” Blalock further stated, "SolAmerica is investing tens of millions of dollars in domestically-produced solar panels. The next step in the growth of solar in America is to encourage increased domestic production of panels and equipment. As the supply chain shifts toward American production, we can push the boundaries of what community solar can do for our local economies and domestic energy production.”
Chairman Buddy Carter said, “I want to thank Georgia SEIA for such an informative update. Domestic homegrown energy is vital to the growth of Georgia. Demand for energy is only increasing, and community solar can play a vital role in meeting our state’s energy needs as a part of a diverse energy portfolio. I was also greatly encouraged to hear about SolAmerica Energy’s investment in all-American solar panels. Not only will this provide quality jobs right here in the United States, but it will also allow us to compete against China.”
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Data centers want clean electricity. Can Georgia Power deliver it?
By Jeff St. John (Picture above is worker outside of Google's Douglas County, Georgia data center. (Google)
Last week, Georgia Power won regulatory approval to fast-track construction of 1.4 gigawatts of fossil-fueled power plants and to contract for nearly a gigawatt more power from coal- and fossil-gas-fired power plants owned by other utilities. The reason? Fear that skyrocketing power demand from power-hungry data centers and factories soon to be built in Georgia could overwhelm its grid unless it expands new generation as quickly as possible.
The plan has drawn the ire of environmental groups and consumer advocates, who say that choosing fossil-fueled power over cleaner alternatives will worsen climate change and increase electricity rates for customers. But it has also sparked concern from some of the same big companies planning the data center and factory expansions that Georgia Power says will cause its looming power crunch.
That’s the message that Priya Barua, director of market and policy innovation for the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) — a trade group that includes major data center operators with aggressive clean energy goals, such as Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft — delivered to Georgia Power in deliberations over the proposed plan earlier this year.
Rep. Beth Camp to chair committee on Community Solar
BY STAFF WRITER ON MARCH 26, 2024 - State Representative Beth Camp (R-Concord) was recently named as the chair of the House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Ad Hoc Committee on Community Solar. She was appointed to this position by Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee Chairman Don Parsons (R-Marietta).
“It has been an honor to serve in the State House as the chair of the Intragovernmental Coordination Committee, and I am thankful for the opportunity to now also serve as the chair of the Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Ad Hoc Committee on Community Solar,” said Rep. Camp. “Community Solar is rapidly growing across the country, and after I introduced House Bill 1152, The Georgia Homegrown Solar Act, we saw the need to further the discussion on this important topic.”
“We will spend time over the interim studying this issue to perfect legislation for consideration during the 2025 legislative session,” said Rep. Camp.
The Community Solar Ad Hoc Committee was created following Chair Camp’s introduction of House Bill 1152, or the Georgia Homegrown Solar Act of 2024, during this year’s legislative session. HB 1152 would allow customers of an electric utility to aggregate demand from multiple locations and subscribe to certain off-site solar facilities, provide nondiscriminatory interconnection of these facilities, provide consumer protections for customers and allow customers to access their own meter usage and provide the usage data to authorized third parties.
By Meris Lutz and J. Scott Trubey - May 3, 2024 - When Hyundai Motor Group announced two years ago it would build a massive new electric vehicle “Metaplant” near the Georgia coast, the company committed to operate using 100% renewable energy from the start of mass production, expected later this year.
On Earth Day this year, Hyundai and key suppliers announced a huge power purchasing agreement, saying it would buy enough solar power to “support sustainable manufacturing” at the Metaplant and other U.S. factories.
But aside for a few solar panels on its Bryan County carpark, none of that renewable energy is being produced — or used — in Georgia.
Instead, Hyundai has a “virtual” power purchase agreement to buy 70% of the output from a new solar array in Bell County, Texas, and resell it on the local Texas market for points known as “renewable energy credits.” The company uses these credits to lower its calculated emissions.