by Dave Williams | Nov 26, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A nearly $6 billion federal loan will help electric-vehicle manufacturer Rivian restart construction of a $5 billion vehicle and battery plant near Covington, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., announced Tuesday.
The project was expected to create 7,500 jobs when it was announced in late 2021. But it appeared in doubt last March when Rivian unveiled plans to build its new R2 crossover models at a factory in Illinois instead of in Georgia.
“There was real concern last spring that construction would never start,” Ossoff told reporters Tuesday morning in an online briefing. “What we have now is a major step forward to make sure this plant is built in Georgia.”
At the time it was announced, the Rivian plant was the largest economic development project in the state’s history. However, it was surpassed five months later by an announcement that Hyundai would build a $5.5 billion EV plant west of Savannah.
The loan from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is conditional. Rivian must fulfill a number of commitments to the project for the loan to gain final approval. The loan is being funded through the Inflation Reduction Act Congress passed in 2022.
“We are excited to arrive at this important chapter in our growth,” said RJ Scaringe, California-based Rivian’s founder and CEO. “We are grateful for our strong partnerships in Georgia and will continue to work closely with them as we bring this landmark facility to life.”
According to the DOE’s Loan Programs Office, Rivian plans to produce its midsize R2 and R3 models first at the new plant. The project, due to begin operations in 2028, would support up to 2,000 full-time construction jobs and up to 7,500 operations jobs by 2030.
If finalized, the loan would support construction of a 9-million-square-foot facility to manufacture up to 400,000 electric SUVs and crossover vehicles annually.
President-elect Donald Trump has been cool toward electric vehicles and threatened to repeal a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 to incentivize the purchase of EVs.
“This Rivian plant is a crucial part of Georgia’s economic future,” Ossoff said. “I’ll oppose any effort to undermine Georgia’s economic development.”
by Dave Williams | Nov 25, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Agriculture has launched a low-interest emergency loan program to help farmers who suffered losses from Hurricane Helene.
The application period for the SAFETY 24 Hurricane Helene Relief Loan Program, a partnership of the agriculture agency and the Georgia Development Authority, opened on Friday on a first come, first served basis.
Farmers who suffered losses from the storm and live in a federally designated disaster area or adjacent county are eligible to seek up to $500,000 at a 2% fixed-interest rate. That includes counties across South Georgia and the eastern half of the state.
The money can be used for income replacement, operating capital, repairing or replacing damaged farm structures or farm equipment, and the purchase of machinery necessary to recover from hurricane damage.
“Help is on the way for Georgia farmers affected by Hurricane Helene,” state Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper said. “The SAFETY 24 program is meant to provide Georgia farm families with the capital they need to keep operating while we continue pushing Congress to deliver additional federal relief, and I strongly encourage all impacted farmers to apply so we can begin to build back.”
An update the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences released on Friday reported a preliminary damage assessment of at least $5.5 billion in agricultural and timber losses from Helene, down from an earlier assessment of $6.46 billion.
The losses include an estimated $2.65 billion in damage to timber, $683 million to poultry, $577 million to nursery crops, $560 million to cotton, $291 million to pecans, and $275 million to beef cattle.
The application form and additional details about the program can be found online. Applications can be submitted online via email or by regular mail.
by Dave Williams | Nov 25, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia Commissioner of Labor Bruce Thompson died Sunday at the age of 59, eight months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Thompson, a Republican from North Georgia, was elected to head the labor department in 2022 and took office at the beginning of last year. Before that, he served for eight years in the state Senate.
“A successful businessman and respected leader of his community, Bruce was a passionate voice for what he believed in throughout his years of service to the people of Georgia,” Gov. Brian Kemp wrote in a social media post.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who served alongside Thompson in the Senate before the two won statewide election two years ago, praised his work at the labor department, which had been buffeted during the pandemic by heavy demand for unemployment compensation.
“He made significant changes to improve workforce outcomes for citizens across the state,” Jones said.
Thompson grew up on a farm in Montana and went on to serve six years in the U.S. Army National Guard.
He launched a series of businesses, including two automatic pool cover companies, six insurance agencies, two funeral homes, and several software firms.
At the labor agency, Thompson championed transparency, customer service, and fiscal responsibility.
He is survived by his wife, Becky, a son, and a daughter.
by Dave Williams | Nov 22, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – President-elect Donald Trump is turning to Georgia again in his pick to head the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Eight years after choosing former Gov. Sonny Perdue as secretary of agriculture, Trump is expected to nominate former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., to the post, multiple media outlets reported Friday.
Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Loeffler to the Senate in January 2020 to fill the unexpired term of retired Sen. Johnny Isakson, who died late the following year. She ran for a full term later in 2020 but lost to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a runoff at the beginning of 2021.
Loeffler, a wealthy Atlanta businesswoman, is married to Jeff Sprecher, chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange. She also was CEO of Atlanta-based Bakkt, a Bitcoin-focused subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange, and was formerly a co-owner of the women’s pro basketball team the Atlanta Dream.
Loeffler has been a staunch loyalist to Trump, backing his unsuccessful legal efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results that saw Trump lose to Democrat Joe Biden and calling for the resignation of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger at that time amid unproven Republican claims of election fraud in Georgia.
After the dust settled from the 2020 election cycle, Loeffler founded the organization Greater Georgia to recruit Republican candidates and register GOP voters.
After Trump turned the tables on the Democrats this month to win a second term in the White House, Loeffler signed on as co-chair of the president-elect’s inauguration committee.
While Loeffler’s business career has not touched on agriculture, she grew up on a farm in southern Illinois. Her nomination will be subject to confirmation by her former colleagues in the Senate.
by Dave Williams | Nov 22, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Solar power advocates in Georgia are renewing a push for legislation that would let Georgia Power customers buy electricity from third-party providers of solar energy.
A bill that would open the door to so-called “community” solar projects in the Peach State failed to gain traction in the General Assembly during this year’s legislative session. However, the state House of Representatives created an ad hoc committee to consider the proposal this summer and fall.
Community solar projects are smaller than utility-scale solar projects but larger than rooftop solar panels installed by individual property owners. Community solar allows residential and business property owners who might not be able to afford rooftop solar to participate in solar energy development.
“We are confident a market-based community solar program under the regulation of the (Georgia) Public Service Commission (PSC) would be a benefit to Georgia,” Bob Sherrier, a staff attorney with the Atlanta-based Southern Environmental Law Center, told members of the committee during a hearing Nov. 19.
“What I see here is an opportunity for free-market principles to operate,” added state Rep. Brad Thomas, R-Holly Springs, a member of the committee.
Under this year’s House Bill 1152, customers could subscribe with community solar providers for projects producing no more than six megawatts of power and receive a credit in return. The fees subscribers pay would go toward building community solar projects.
Sherrier cited a recent study conducted by the Coalition for Community Solar Access, a national solar power advocacy group, that found solar projects create 16 jobs and $2 million in economic impact for every solar megawatt produced.
“The community solar model works … because community solar adds significant value to the whole grid,” he said.
But Georgia Power opposes third-party community solar projects for several reasons.
Wilson Mallard, the Atlanta-based utility’s director of renewable development, said Georgia Power already offers a robust community solar program with about 2,000 customers.
“We’ve got a vibrant renewable market,” he said. “Putting that at risk for the benefits this bill would provide is not in Georgians’ best interests.”
Since the PSC would regulate community solar providers under this year’s bill, the measure would not have applied to Georgia’s electric membership cooperatives (EMCs).
But Chris Stephens, president and CEO of Coweta-Fayette EMC, told the committee he’s concerned that any legislation introduced in 2025 might be extended to cover EMCs. He questioned the need for third parties to build community solar projects in Georgia when the state already ranks seventh in the nation for solar.
“For solar developers, House Bill 1152 is a dream piece of legislation,” Stephens said. “It allows any independent solar developer to set up as many 30- to 35-acre solar installations as they like across the state.”
Mallard also argued that allowing Georgia Power customers to buy electricity from third-party community solar providers would force customers who don’t sign up for community solar to shoulder some of the program’s costs.
“The customers who participate in community solar no longer pay to Georgia Power but to a third-party provider,” he said. “That causes a shortfall … a shift in the cost recovery from participants to non-participants.”
But Sherrier isn’t buying the cost-shifting argument.
“The utilities oppose customer-driven third-party owned projects like community solar because they threaten to supplant utility investments and take away from shareholder profits,” he said.
Rep. Ruwa Romman, D-Duluth, another member of the ad hoc committee, said the status quo doesn’t seem to be working when so few Georgia Power customers are participating in the utility’s in-house community solar program.
“If you’re only able to provide community solar to 2,000 out of 2.7 million customers, doesn’t it show something is not working here?” she asked Mallard. “Maybe we should be allowed to try something new.”
Mallard said Georgia Power is working to improve all of its solar programs.
“We need to add solar,” he said. “We just need to add it in a way that produces the best value for our customers.”
