Georgia Power wind energy entered the utility’s portfolio through a 250 MW agreement with EDP Renewables North America. The deal brought wind-generated electricity from Oklahoma into Georgia Power’s resource mix.
Georgia Power Added 250 MW of Wind Energy
Another Southern Co. utility now has wind energy in its portfolio.
Georgia Power last week announced it has entered into an agreement with EDP Renewables North America that for the first time will add wind energy to the utility’s energy portfolio.
Through the contracts, Georgia Power will source 250 MW of cost-effective wind energy from EDP’s wind farms in southwest Oklahoma. The wind energy purchased through the contracts will provide enough electricity to power more than 50,000 Georgia homes, the investor-owned utility said. Georgia Power will begin receiving the wind power on January 1, 2016.
“We are continuously assessing energy options, such as wind, to include in our generation mix in order to provide our customers with clean, safe, reliable, sustainable and low-cost energy,” President and CEO Paul Bowers told AWEA’s Wind Energy Weekly. “We are committed to maintaining a diverse fuel portfolio and energy options that provide the best overall economic value to our customers.”
The utility certainly achieved economic value with the recent wind power contract. The agreement is expected to deliver cost savings to Georgia Power customers over the life of the contract, the company said. The contract, in fact, continues to a trend of utilities in the South purchasing wind energy (and often highlighting wind’s cost savings). Among the utilities in the South now purchasing wind are Alabama Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Both Alabama Power and Georgia Power are subsidiaries of the Southern Co., an investor-owned utility company that proudly states it has “rates below the national average.”
Source: Power of Wind
Long-Distance Wind Purchases Can Diversify Utility Supply
Utilities do not always need to build wind farms inside their own service territory. Power-purchase agreements can bring renewable electricity from regions with stronger wind resources into a broader generation portfolio.
For more wind-energy coverage, see our solar and wind power overview.
Conclusion
Georgia Power’s 250 MW agreement showed how utilities in the Southeast could add wind energy even when the strongest wind resources were located elsewhere. Diversifying the generation mix can improve flexibility while adding more renewable power.
Source: Georgia Power and EDP Renewables information preserved in the original article.
