Leaders from Georgia’s fledgling solar industry say they hope Cobb EMC’s decision to back away from coal-fired electricity and buy from what is being billed as the largest solar project in the state will create enough buzz for sun power — even with all the project’s unknowns.
The utility has signed an agreement to buy power from a project put together by Jacoby Development and outside solar project financier Smart Energy Capital. The project is planned for Davisboro, in the same east Georgia county where a conglomerate of electric cooperatives plan to build a $2 billion coal plant.
Cobb EMC, which had been the conglomerate’s largest financial backer, pulled out of that coal plant — Plant Washington — in January, but it had already spent $13 million toward the plant’s development.
“I think Cobb EMC previously was making poor decisions with members’ money by investing in old technology,” said Joel Mendelson, a representative with Take Back Cobb EMC, which has pushed for changes at the company. “I hope it will pay off and eventually reduce rates for members.”
The state’s solar association says the project is proof that sun power can generate electricity in Georgia. Yet, Jacoby, which developed Atlantic Station, earlier scrapped a plan to build 30 acres of solar panels near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, leaving some to wonder whether this project will move forward.
“We’ve heard several of these larger deals being announced. I’m not sure if they were announced to help push the market along, but we haven’t seen them come to fruition yet,” said Pete Corbett, construction and engineering vice president for Atlanta-based First Century Energy, a solar engineering, procurement and construction company.
Solar shut out
Solar industry representatives say state policies lock out private solar developers from building major sun-powered projects unless Georgia’s utilities are involved.
The utilities say any solar panel provider that sells solar power to a Georgia resident or business would be illegally operating as a utility.
Utilities such as Georgia Power and the co-operatives say competition from private solar developers would raise rates for Georgians who depend on the electric companies.
The utilities also are concerned that the electric grid’s reliability could be threatened.
Pete Marte, the chief executive officer of Atlanta-based solar designer and installer Hannah Solar, said financing such solar projects can be challenging.
“With scale, you can do that,” he said. “That’s where Jacoby could be a great, credible developer of solar projects.”
Officials from Cobb EMC, Jacoby and Smart Energy Capital declined to comment until after a 9 a.m. news conference about the project today.
Ed Crowell, the new chairman of Cobb EMC’s board, doesn’t see the solar project as a sea change for the company. He said the decision was made “partly to satisfy federal regulations that require some type of renewable [energy alternatives] be available for members.”
Despite Cobb EMC’s recent split from the coal conglomerate, the beginnings of the solar project actually began about two years ago, said Dean Alford, a spokesman for Power4Georgians, which is still pushing Plant Washington.
“It was contemplated for Cobb to take the lead [on the solar project] and was talked about with the overall strategy that other co-ops [in the conglomerate] to also participate,” he said. “Since the leadership in Cobb [EMC] has changed, I’m not sure where that stands.”
When the original Atlanta airport site fell through, Alford said his company and Cobb EMC worked with Jacoby and secured the Washington County location.
Unsuspected move
News of the deal surfaced late last week, catching many in Georgia’s tight-knit solar industry off guard. The project reportedly will produce 10 megawatts of electricity — enough for 1,500 homes — and would significantly beef up the amount of solar energy Georgia generates.
The state currently gets about 15 megawatts, or less than 1 percent of the electricity it produces, from solar power, according to the Georgia Solar Energy Association, using figures supplied by the state.
Another large-scale solar project, a 30-megawatt array to be built on 250 acres in Social Circle, is in the planning stages. Georgia Power will buy electricity from that project as part of a requirement to get 50 megawatts of energy from the sun.
“It’s nothing but good news for our industry and for the state,” Anthony Coker, the GSEA’s board chairman and senior director of strategic initiatives for Norcross-based solar-cell maker Suniva.
Beginning stages
Whether the project will tap into the local solar base is unknown.
“We don’t know if it’s going to create any state jobs, we don’t know any of our state installers that are involved, we don’t know if any of our panel manufacturers, racking manufacturers or wiring manufacturers that are going to be involved,” Coker said.
Smart Energy Capital has partnered with real estate investors, utilities and nonprofits such as schools to build solar projects, mostly in Arizona, California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Those states mandate that a certain percentage of electricity come from renewable fuels and, as a result, have more solar-friendly policies.
“I think we’re at the beginning stages in Georgia,” said Steve Ivey, president of Simon Solar, which signed the agreement to sell solar electricity to Georgia Power. Ivey said he will use his project as a springboard to start solar projects here and in other states.
“It amazes me,” he said, “that we are not much more advanced in this.”
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