Georgia Power and an Atlanta-based solar company have formed a partnership to build a series of 19-megawatt solar projects across the state.
The projects are part of a 50-megawatt solar initiative approved by the state's Public Service Commission last year.
Georgia Power already is buying 1MW of solar energy from the Atlanta company, Solar Design & Development. The solar project, built on 10 acres in Upson County, is providing enough electricity to power about 300 homes, the company said.
Additional projects will be in Meriwether and Mitchell counties. The projects will be co-owned by Origis Energy, a financier and operator of large solar plants in the U.S. and Europe.
Georgia Power came up with a plan to get 50 MW of its power from solar energy last year after state utility regulator Bubba McDonald asked the company to do so. Simon Solar, a company near Social Circle, has agreed to build the other 30 MW of solar projects.
Separately, Georgia Power's parent, Atlanta-based Southern Co., and Ted Turner's Turner Renewable Energy have bought a 20-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant in Nevada.
The two companies bought the Apex Solar Project from SunEdison. They already have built a 30-megawatt solar facility in New Mexico.
