The success of an 80-acre, 10-megawatt solar project in Washington County may lead outside financier Smart Energy Capital to do more in Georgia, but only if there's support from business and civic officials.
"Obviously, the regulations have to be there to support it," said Michael Grenier, the managing partner at Smart Energy Capital, which gave details Monday about the large solar project in Middle Georgia that will sell electricity to Cobb EMC. "We're watching. We're interested. If things allow for us to come in and the economics support it, we'll be here like anywhere else."
Smart Energy and Jacoby Development have agreed to build what will be called the Azalea Solar Facility in Davisboro. The cost of the project -- which will produce enough power to serve 1,500 homes -- is estimated at $30 million to $35 million.
Construction is expected to start in September and create about 75 jobs. It will likely be completed sometime between the end of this year and mid-2013.
"I always thought solar power was something further out for Georgia. We just weren't in the right time," said Chip Nelson, chief executive officer of Cobb EMC. "The way things have been moving in the utility industry, particularly the last two or three years, I find that we're just ripe for it."
Environmental regulations have pushed coal out of favor with utilities, including Cobb EMC and Georgia Power. Cobb EMC had been the largest financial backer of a proposed $2 billion coal plant for Washington County before it pulled out of the project in January.
Yet solar industry leaders have said the state's policies make it difficult to finance projects like this one unless Georgia's utilities are involved.
Utilities say private solar developers who sell electricity in Georgia would be illegally operating as a utility. They also say competition from such companies would raise rates for Georgians and threaten reliability of the electrical grid.
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