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closeConsumers in Middle Georgia interested in using green power will soon have more available to them.
Green Power EMC, a partnership of 38 of the state’s electrical membership corporations, announced recently that it has agreed to purchase 17 megawatts of biomass energy from Multitrade Rabun Gap.
That electrical power, in turn, will be available to customers of the 11 area EMCs that are part of the Green Power partnership – Altamaha EMC, Central Georgia EMC, Flint Energies, Little Ocmulgee EMC, Middle Georgia EMC, Ocmulgee EMC, Oconee EMC, Southern Rivers Energy, Tri-County EMC, Upson EMC and Washington EMC.
Green power is electricity generated from renewable, environmental-friendly technologies such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and low-impact hydropower. Biomass includes landfill gas and agricultural wastes.
The $21.5 million Rabun Gap facility will use woody waste from Georgia’s forestry industry as the primary fuel in a conventional boiler for generation of steam to power a steam-turbine electricity generator.
The North Georgia plant is expected to produce 17 megawatts of electricity when it goes online in August. That is enough electricity to power about 10,000 homes. A megawatt is 1 million watts.
Michael Whiteside, Green Power’s president, says the Rabun Gap project is “renewable” in several other ways, in addition to its use of woody waste as fuel.
The facility is adapting an existing power plant, including its boiler, in a former Fruit of the Loom factory that closed in 2006, with a loss of 900 jobs. The Rabun Gap power plant will employ only 20 people, but another 75 jobs will be needed for people to gather and transport the biomass to the facility.
The Rabun Gap electricity will be added to about 8.3 megawatts now available through the Green Power EMC partnership — 5 megawatts produced in two landfill methane gas operations in Taylor County and in Fayetteville, 2.3 megawatts from the Tallassee Shoals low-impact hydroelectric plant on the Middle Oconee River near Athens and 1 megawatt from an experimental wind power operation of Oglethorpe Power near Rome.
Green Power EMC also expects to add 20 to 23 megawatts of power later this year from Plant Carl near Carnesville, a biomass facility using poultry waste as fuel.
Even with the additional 17 megawatts from the Rabun Gap plant, the energy being produced in the “green” effort is only a fraction of that being used by the individual EMCs.
Greg Mullis of Tri-County EMC in Gray said his cooperative had a peak use of 107 megawatts during the recent cold snap, and Jimmy Autry of Flint Energies in Warner Robins said the utility registered a peak use of 417 megawatts.
“What’s available through Green Power EMC now is only a small fraction of what we use,” Mullis said.
“Most of our capacity comes through traditional sources (coal-powered facilities, nuclear power plants and hydroelectric dams), and we probably will always depend more on them here in Georgia. It just doesn’t look as if wind and solar will be as viable major alternatives here as they may be in some other areas.
“But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to explore all alternatives, such as biomass, and continue to look for more diversity in our sources for electric energy. That’s why we’re excited to add a plant like Rabun Gap.”
The Tri-County executive said Oglethorpe Power, the main energy provider for the state’s EMCs, is exploring more biomass plants in southeast Georgia that could produce up to 100 megawatts each.
And Autry noted that Flint Energies is negotiating with the Houston County government to put in a methane plant at the county landfill that could produce 1 to 4 megawatts of power.
“Other governments and EMCs around the state are exploring similar partnerships. So green power from multiple sources is something we are all looking to increase,” Autry said.
Green Power EMC was founded in 2001 and began producing green energy in 2003.
Since then, it has produced nearly 138 million kilowatt hours of green energy, enough to provide an environmental benefit equivalent to taking more than 136,000 cars off the road, energy officials estimate.
The green energy is added to the electricity grid and used as needed throughout the state. Environmental-minded EMC customers may purchase green power by paying slightly higher prices for their electricity.
“Our customers have the option of buying green energy in 150 kilowatt blocks,” Autry explained.
“It costs about 2.6 cents more per kilowatt hour, or almost $4 for the 150 kilowatt block.”
For more information on green energy, contact your local electricity provider.
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