PSC Approves Plan Requiring Solar Expansion
In a highly contentious 3-2 vote, the Public Service Commission approved a plan forcing Georgia Power to significantly increase its solar capacity. It was part of a larger approval process of the company’s 20-year energy plan for the state.
The plan requires Georgia Power add 525 megawatts of solar power over the next two years. That’s in addition to the roughly 260 megawatts Georgia Power voluntarily committed to by 2017.
Commissioner Bubba McDonald introduced the expansion plan and said solar needs to be a key part of Georgia’s energy future.
“I’ve got grandchildren that 20 years from now I hope that they can look back as we are graded on what we have done and say, ‘You know what, my grandfather was on the Georgia Public Service Commission in 2013 and because of some issues that he took grasp of, we’ve got good, reliable, clean energy that we can depend on in the state of Georgia,” said McDonald.
Chairman Chuck Eaton and Commissioner Stan Wise opposed the plan. After the vote, Wise railed against the commission and Georgia Power, saying the solar plan was “concocted out of thin air” and an example of Washington-style social engineering.
“I’m real disappointed in the company today. It’s one thing for the commission to make a bad policy decision but it’s extraordinary the company would lay down and take it,” said Wise.
The solar plan split conservatives across the state, with some blasting it as a government mandate and others saying it would boost energy competition in a state dominated by Georgia Power.
Meanwhile, the commission went on to approve Georgia Power’s larger 20-year energy plan, which includes shuttering 15 coal and oil-fired units across the state. It passed with a 4-1 vote, with Wise opposing.
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