Georgia Power seeks 540 MW of renewables in final REDI solicitation

Dive Brief:

Georgia Power has launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) for 540 MW of renewables, the final procurement in the utility's Renewable Energy Development Initiative (REDI), authorized by regulators in 2016 and targeting 1.2 GW of green capacity.
Eligible projects include solar, wind and biomass resources greater than 3 MW. The RFP will also consider energy storage projects proposed alongside a renewable resource.
Project developers can submit proposals until Jan. 15. Georgia Power awarded power purchase agreements (PPAs) to the first REDI projects in 2017, which included 510 MW of new solar projects.

Dive Insight:

As utility renewable energy goals grow, so do their RFPs. Georgia Power's most recent solicitation represents almost half of the authorized REDI resources — and more than half of the utility's 976 MW of solar capacity currently online.

Through REDI and other solar projects and programs, Georgia Power said it anticipates adding up to 1,600 MW of renewable resources by the end of 2021. The Southern Company subsidiary currently has three projects under development in Georgia, representing the state's largest individual solar projects to date.

While Georgia Power has been developing renewable resources for years, it is the utility's foray into nuclear power that has made the headlines this year.

Southern is lead owner of the Vogtle project, the only nuclear power plant under construction in the United States right now. But the project is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. The two-reactor expansion at Vogtle was proposed a decade ago but is now more than five years behind schedule and forecast to cost a total of $27 billion — almost double its original price tag.

The utility says renewable resources constructed through REDI will benefit all customers. In a statement, Wilson Mallard, director of renewable development for Georgia Power, said the utility is "proud of the principles that we have built upon with REDI, such as competitive bidding, as we continue to procure renewable energy from cost effective resources to maximize the benefits for our customers."