[The Vector] News From Around the Country: Georgia Power to Double Solar

The utility company Georgia Power reports it is doubling the amount of solar energy it will buy from independent producers.  Lauren McDonald, Chair of the utility, said it will buy another 2.5 MW of capacity from homes and businesses with solar panels, to bring the total over 5 MW.  1 MW can power about 250 homes or one SuperTarget.

This announcement is seen as a boost to the industry, and specifically Georgia’s solar industry.  The company will pay 17 cents per KW for the first 1.5 MW and take bids for the rest.  In addition to the 5 MW it will buy, the utility is also building 1 MW of capacity itself, and will buy 1.4 MW through another program from two solar farms. These farms are located in Savannah and on a southern Georgia pecan farm.

The Georgia Power announcement is helpful, since many have said it has crimped the industry to now. Customers may sell the power from solar to the utility, but GP hasn’t been buying new solar for months.