by Dave Williams | Dec 3, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The state Public Service Commission (PSC) voted unanimously Tuesday to certify Georgia Power’s plan to build battery energy storage systems (BESS) at four locations.
The Atlanta-based utility’s proposal, which was approved without discussion, will add 500 megawatts of electrical generating capacity to Georgia Power’s energy supply portfolio. One megawatt is enough electricity to power 750 homes.
Two of the new BESS facilities will be built adjacent to both Robins Air Force Base in Houston County and Moody Air Force Base in Lowndes County. They will be co-located with existing solar facilities.
A third standalone BESS will be located at the retired coal-burning Plant Hammond in Floyd County. The fourth site will double the battery-storage capacity of the McGrau Ford Battery Facility being built in Cherokee County.
An agreement Georgia Power reached with the PSC’s Public Interest Advocacy Staff in October requires the company to submit quarterly reports while the BESS projects are under construction updating spending and the construction schedule.
by Dave Williams | Dec 2, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A group of 17 Republican governors has sent a joint letter to Congress urging passage of an updated Farm Bill.
The most recent Farm Bill, which federal lawmakers approved early in President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, expired in September. Different versions of a reauthorization bill are pending in the U.S. House and Senate, while Republicans and Democrats are divided over funding for food stamps.
The letter, dated Monday, cites “high inflation, high input costs, high interest rates, catastrophic weather events, natural disasters, regulatory uncertainty, and a growing agricultural trade deficit” as lending a sense of urgency to the need for congressional action.
“Our nation’s agriculture industry is in trouble, and if meaningful support is not provided soon, the well-being of the nation is at risk,” the governors wrote. “Reauthorization of a Farm Bill and immediate assistance in the interim will allow farmers and ranchers to do what they do best – provide for America and feed the world.”
Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp joined the GOP governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia in signing the letter.
