What to do with closing power plant? Give it to Georgia’s port agency

Georgia Power said it plans to donate a power plant site to the Georgia Ports Authority if state regulators approve its plans to shut the old oil-fired plant down.

The utility plant, Plant Kraft, is located on the Savannah River in Port Wentworth, near Savannah.

A company spokesman did not release any details Wednesday on the size or value of the Plant Kraft property, which is bordered by land owned by the Georgia Ports Authority, Norfolk-Southern Railroad, and Georgia Atlantic Port LLC.

Georgia Power has already shut down most of the power plant's coal-fired units, but recently requested to retire the last unit as part of its long-term power generation plans.

Those plans are subject to approval by the Georgia Public Service Commission.

Ports authority chairman James Walters said the power plant land "will allow improved services and cargo handling opportunities through the nearby Garden City container terminal."

“This will be an important addition for long term economic development opportunities in Georgia,” he said.

Georgia Power CEO Paul Bowers said Georgia’s ports create jobs throughout the state, and that the utility’s planned donation will the help support those efforts.