Southern Co. said Friday that a subsidiary’s purchase of a planned biomass power plant in Texas fits the Atlanta-based company’s goal of developing cost-effective renewable energy sources.
But a clean energy advocacy organization said Southern could do more in its Southeast service area to develop renewables.
The subsidiary, Southern Power, is buying Nacogdoches Power from biomass fuel plant developer American Renewables, which launched the 100-megawatt Nacogdoches project. Southern said it will complete construction of the facility which will be one of the largest biomass electricity plants in the U.S. when it becomes operational in 2012.
The plant will generate energy from forest residue, wood processing residue and municipal wood waste, Southern said.
Southern has a 20-year deal to sell power from the plant to Austin Energy.
“We’re very supportive of Southern expanding its biomass facilities,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
Smith called it “ironic,” however, that Southern would develop a biomass facility in Texas when there are “opportunties” for biomass projects in the Southeast. Southern subsidiary Georgia Power is converting coal-fired Plant Mitchell near Albany to a biomass facility.
Some observers have said that biomass is an alternative among renewables to other sources such as wind and solar energy, particularly in states like Georgia, because of the available forests.
Utilities have been under increased pressure to look for sources of electricity other than coal, the primary fuel used Southern subsidiaries.
Buying Nacogdoches Power fits with Southern Power’s business strategy, which is to expand in the wholesale power market by buying other companies and building new plants, Southern Power President and CEO Ronnie Bates said in a statement.
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