ATLANTA – State energy regulators gave final approval Tuesday to Georgia Power’s plan to build three new “dual-fuel” turbines at Plant Yates near Newnan.
The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) signed off on the proposal unanimously after officials with the Atlanta-based utility pitched the plan as necessary to meet the growing need for energy generating capacity prompted by an unanticipated demand for power. Much of that increased demand stems from an influx of power-hungry data centers cropping up across the state.
Environmental groups opposed the project as an unwelcome continuation of Georgia Power’s reliance on fossil fuels for power generation at a time utilities are moving away from coal and gas toward renewable sources of electricity.
The new turbines will run mostly on natural gas but switch to ultra low-sulfur diesel fuel when gas is unavailable.
The project’s opponents asked the PSC in recent weeks to hold off on certifying the turbines until an all-source request for proposals (RFP) Georgia Power is pursuing determines whether other less costly, lower-polluting options might be available.
But Georgia Power officials argued that any alternative sources of electricity the RFP produces wouldn’t be ready in time to meet the capacity needs of customers starting in the winter of 2026.
During negotiations that led to the commission’s staff endorsing the project, Georgia Power agreed to submit semi-annual construction monitoring reports updating the status of the work. However, unlike the monitoring process that took place during construction of the nuclear expansion at the utility’s Plant Vogtle, the PSC doesn’t anticipate holding hearings on each report.
The turbines project generated extensive back-and-forth during last week’s meeting of the commission’s Energy Committee. As a result, Tuesday’s vote took place with little discussion.