Georgia utility regulator Lauren McDonald wants Georgia Power to come up with options in the next 30 days for expanding the tiny amount of electricity generated from solar power.
“I think we need to take an aggressive move and explore what we can do,” McDonald, a veteran member of the Public Service Commission, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I don’t think the company and even our staff has been challenged to the degree that they should be.”
McDonald made his call for more during a Georgia Public Service Commission meeting Tuesday. His suggestions include having Georgia Power make room for large-scale solar projects in its long-term plan, which must be filed in late July.
Or the utility could buy more solar power from other providers.
A Georgia Power spokesman said the company will comply with McDonald’s call for developing options. Tom Fanning, CEO of Georgia Power parent Southern Co., said at an industry conference last week that he is “bullish” on solar, but not as much on wind power.
No other PSC member spoke on the matter Tuesday.
Georgia solar industry officials said they were surprised by McDonald’s call but added he recently has become supportive of the renewable fuel.
“It came unexpectedly. It was a shock to everyone,” said Doug Beebe, chairman of the Georgia Solar Energy Association. “We’re not really sure where it came from and what the motivation is.”
Neill Herring, a lobbyist for the Sierra Club, called the action “back scratching.”
“They both get to look responsible,” said Herring, adding that there’s a growing and vocal solar lobby in Georgia. “They have to deal with those people. That’s what this is about.”
Georgia Power in the past has cited cost and the Southeast’s erratic weather as the two main obstacles to more power from renewable sources.
The utility has PSC approval to buy up to 4.4 megawatts of solar power from customers with solar systems.
All of that is under contract, but only 2 megawatts is being produced, a spokeswoman said. Georgia Power also plans to build 1 megawatt’s worth of solar projects across the state.
One megawatt can power 250 homes or one SuperTarget.
The utility gets 67 percent of its fuel from coal, 21 percent from nuclear reactors, 10 percent from natural gas and 2 percent from hydroelectric.
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