ATLANTA, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Georgia Power has
significantly increased the amount of energy under contract from
independent renewable power producers and further diversified its fuel mix
by signing a contract with a plant that will use wood biomass in Georgia to
make electricity.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050216/CLW066LOGO )
Georgia Power and Yellow Pine Energy Company, LLC, a biomass-fired
facility to be located near Fort Gaines, Ga., recently signed a 20-year
contract for electricity that will be generated from
environmentally-friendly wood waste. The material will come from timber
harvesting residuals and collection of non-commercial tree species,
tree-thinnings, lumber scraps and wood waste reclaimed from landfills.
The Yellow Pine facility is scheduled to go into operation in 2010 and
will produce 110 megawatts of renewable energy. Under the contract, Georgia
Power will purchase almost half of the plant's capacity, or about 50
megawatts. One megawatt is enough energy to supply a Wal-Mart shopping
center or 250 Georgia residences.
The Yellow Pine contract is the largest one to date that Georgia Power
has signed with a renewable generator. With the addition of this contract,
Georgia Power's energy portfolio includes contracts with five qualified
biomass and renewable facilities throughout the state that generate 80
megawatts, or enough renewable energy to power more than 20,000 homes.
These contracts include electricity generated from wood waste, landfill
methane gas and hydro. Georgia Power also buys energy from a dozen other
renewable sources when available.
Renewable electricity from Georgia's biomass is growing rapidly for a
variety of reasons. In 2006, the Georgia Legislature passed House Bill 1018
which exempts biomass from fuel sales and use taxes, thereby making it more
cost competitive with traditional fuels.
Additionally, in a series of studies, the Georgia Forestry Commission
was able to clearly demonstrate the energy potential for wood biomass in
Georgia.
Last year, the Public Service Commission approved a plan for Georgia
Power to increase up to 90 megawatts the amount of renewable generation
that can be built into its base rates, and the development of a plan for
additional renewable contracts in the future.
Yellow Pine is an affiliate of Summit Energy Partners, LLC and Morris
Energy Group, LLC. Summit Energy is a renewable energy company formed in
2002 by its principal, Mark S. Sajer, to develop renewable plants. Summit
has overall project management responsibilities for Yellow Pine. Yellow
Pine received unanimous approvals from the Clay County Board of
Commissioners for zoning and special use authorizations and work on various
environmental permits and technical studies and approvals are continuing.
Morris Energy owns and operates six power/cogen plants in the Northeast
U.S. aggregating 670 megawatts. Additional information on Morris Energy can
be found at http://www.morrisenergy.com
Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the
nation's largest generators of electricity. The company is an
investor-owned, tax-paying utility with rates well below the national
average. Georgia Power serves 2.3 million customers in all but four of
Georgia's 159 counties.
SOURCE Georgia Power
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Related links:
http://www.georgiapower.com
http://www.morrisenergy.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050216/CLW066LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Lynn Wallace of Georgia Power,
+1-404-506-7676, or +1-800-282-1696, corpcomm@georgiapower.com
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