Georgia Public Service Commission approves Solar Power Tarrif

The Georgia Public Service Commission announced this week that it has approved a new Solar Power Tariff to increase Georgia Power’s purchases of solar power from independent producers by 2500 kilowatts.

I mentioned this proposed increase in a post following the Southern Solar Summit in back in August, when PSC Chairman Lauren “Bubba” McDonald announced the news at the summit to a group of solar industry professionals and advocates.

In a statement issued by the PSC this week, McDonald claims that Georgia now can “lead 32 other states in solar energy.” However, there is still more that can be done here to promote solar energy projects. States like New Jersey and Pennsylvania still beat Georgia in solar production despite the fact that these states do not have nearly the solar capacity of Georgia.

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Some Sunnier News for Solar in Georgia

Last week, I attended the Southern Solar Summit presented by the Georgia Solar Energy Association (GSEA).  Public Service Commission Chairman Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr. gave the key note address and remarked about how far solar energy initiatives have come in Georgia in the past year, which isn’t saying much given where it started.

But, what he did say that was of interest to everyone in attendance was that the PSC is expected to approve Georgia Power’s proposal to effectively double its purchases of solar energy from private producers—up to 5 megawatts.  This is up from 2.5 megawatts that is currently purchased by Georgia Power, and up from 500 kilowatts that it purchased just two years ago.  Additionally, Georgia Power plans to build 1 MW of solar capacity from its own panels.

Many have argued that Georgia is not solar-friendly because of laws (specifically, the Territorial Act) that prevent anyone other than public utilities from selling power to customers.  This means that parties with excess solar energy may not sell it to any other party—the only option is to sell it back to the grid and that amount is capped by regulation.  Moreover, Georgia Power will only pay for solar power from proceeds it receives from customers paying extra for Green Power.  Solar power purchases are not included in the regular rates.

Other states that are known for their solar-friendly policies allow solar energy to be bought and sold through power purchase agreements (PPAs).  Under a PPA, a commercial building owner may contract with a provider to install solar panels on its rooftop (or other location) and the building owner simply purchases the power generated from the solar panels from the provider—usually at a rate less than the power purchased from public utilities.  The Territorial Act prevents parties in Georgia from entering into PPAs, effectively making Georgia Power the only customer of solar power in the state.  Instead, the building owner would have to make the capital expenditure to purchase and install the solar panels and would then own the power produced by the panels—but would not be able to sell to any other party the excess energy that is produced by its solar installation.

It remains to be seen whether this increase in the cap on solar power purchased by Georgia Power will actually correlate to an increase in solar projects around the state.  One thing is certain…if it does not, there is still plenty more Georgia can do to promote solar energy production here.

BONUS: Check out Beth Bond’s Tweet Diary from the Southern Solar Summit with a list of takeaways and important information.