RINCON — Georgia Power is convinced that solar energy has a bright future and is investing heavily in it.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the U.S. solar industry is growing at an unprecedented rate. In 2018, the nation added more than 10.6 gigawatts of solar capacity.
With more than 64 gigawatts of cumulative solar electric capacity, solar energy generates enough clean electricity to power more than 12.3 million average American homes.
Georgia Power isn’t getting left out of the solar energy surge. A Georgia Power Solar Generation Facility is under construction south of Guyton on Ga. Hwy 17.
“It is located on approximately 38.5 acres of land and — when the sun is shining — will have the capacity to produce 3.6 megawatts of electricity,” Georgia Power spokesman John Kraft said.
The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) approved Georgia Power’s Community Solar Program in 2016. It is designed to provide residential customers with an opportunity to support the development of solar power by purchasing a monthly subscription in exchange for receiving a bill credit based on the solar facilities’ production.
Currently, two megawatts are online with plans for an additional six megawatts under development, including the Guyton facility, which is expected to be completed by late summer.
“Working with the PSC and PSC staff, we identified several potential locations that could improve awareness and success of the program and give customers in those areas a closer connection to the solar resources being built across Georgia,” Kraft said. “One of those locations was Southeast Georgia and, after an extensive evaluation, the Guyton site was chosen. It will be a ‘tracking solar facility,’ meaning the panels move to follow the sun throughout the day.”
The potential for solar energy use is dependent upon the amount of sun shining on the earth’s surface. This is called “solar insolation.”
Several factors such as weather patterns, humidity and haze can affect local insolation levels. Insolation values in Georgia, however, are significant enough to support solar energy systems because the southern two-thirds of the state have solar insolation values equivalent to most of Florida, known as the Sunshine State.
Local solar energy supporters don’t have to wait until the Guyton facility is completed to participate in the Community Solar Program.
“The program is already in operation through our first Community Solar facility located in Comer, Georgia, northeast of Athens,” Kraft said. “This program is designed so that residential customers can support the development of solar power in Georgia by purchasing a monthly subscription in exchange for receiving an energy credit based on the solar facilities’ production. Each of Georgia Power’s Community Solar facilities is divided into multiple subscription blocks of one kilowatt (kW) each, with the total number based on the size of the facility.
“For ease of explanation, a 1,000 kW (i.e. one-megawatt) Community Solar plant would consist of 1,000 subscription blocks of 1 kW each. The 3,600 kW (i.e. 3.6 MW) Guyton Community Solar plant will have 3,600 blocks available.”
A program subscription cost is $24.99 per 1 kW block per month. A customer may subscribe for one or more 1-kW blocks (subject to certain limits). The monthly production of a 1 kW subscription block is estimated to be in the range of 130-240 kilowatt-hours (kWh), with the average estimated to be 180 kWh (solar production can vary due to the time of year, number of cloudy days and other factors).
The program is ideal for residential customers who are interested in installing solar but are unable to host a photovoltaic (PV) system at their home, including:
— Renters or condo and townhome owners
— Homeowners with insufficient roof space due to size or shading, or those with restrictive HOA covenants
— Those who cannot afford to install rooftop solar
For more information about the Georgia Power Community Solar Program, visit www.georgiapower.com/communitysolar.
