Oglethorpe Power breaks ground on $3.3B Monroe natural gas plant to meet rising demand
Georgia’s growing electricity demand is driving another major natural gas expansion, with Oglethorpe Power breaking ground Thursday on a $3.3 billion natural gas power plant in Monroe County.
The Smarr Combined-Cycle energy facility, planned off Rumble Road and across the street from the new Buc-ee’s, which broke ground last month, is expected to come online in 2029. It will generate enough electricity to power an estimated 800,000 homes and help meet rising demand from businesses and industries served by the company’s electric cooperatives, according to the company.
The plant will serve 29 of Oglethorpe Power’s 38 member electric cooperatives. Georgia’s electric membership cooperatives collectively serve nearly 5 million Georgians.
“This project is about planning for the future and supporting our member cooperatives as they meet growing demand across rural and suburban communities in Georgia,” said Annalisa Bloodworth, Oglethorpe Power’s president and CEO.
Federal officials attending the groundbreaking tied the project to President Donald Trump’s broader energy strategy.
“We at the EPA have rolled back numerous burdensome regulations that were posing issues for power plant construction,” said John Eunice, associate administrator for congressional and intergovernmental relations at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “This is an example of just one of the many projects happening all around the country of how we at EPA are working in partnership with our state partners and our federal partners to ensure that we have power.”
The Trump administration’s EPA has moved to roll back several Biden-era emissions regulations affecting fossil fuel power plants, arguing the changes support affordable and reliable energy supplies. However, environmental groups, including the Southern Environmental Law Center, criticized the rollbacks, saying repealing the standards for coal and gas-fired power plants would increase carbon pollution and therefore harm nearby communities.
The project comes as Georgia utilities and power providers face increasing electricity demand tied to population growth, business expansion and large industrial users across the state.
The Smarr Combined-Cycle plant is not being built to serve data centers, but rather growing residential, business and industrial needs in rural and suburban Georgia, according to Blair Romero, director of corporate communications at Oglethorpe Power.
Construction of the plant is expected to create up to 1,200 jobs, with about 30 permanent positions once the facility becomes operational, according to Oglethorpe Power.
“This will bring significant tax revenue for our schools, our parks and first responders here in Monroe County,” said State Sen. Steven McNeel (R-18), who represents Monroe and other Middle Georgia counties.
The facility will use combined-cycle technology, which captures heat from natural gas turbines to create additional steam-powered electricity generation. According to project materials, the plant also will use air-cooled condenser technology designed to reduce water consumption compared to traditional cooling systems.
The facility will use two GE Vernova 7HA.03 gas turbines and have a generating capacity of 1,425 megawatts.
Oglethorpe Power has operated in Monroe County for decades, including ownership interests in Plant Scherer and operation of the nearby Smarr Energy Facility.
During Thursday’s groundbreaking event, the company also announced $75,000 in donations funded through timber harvested at the project site, including money for a walking trail at the Monroe County Recreation Department and equipment for the Monroe County College and Career Academy’s skilled trades program.