Georgia Power chooses locations for 2 GWh of battery storage projects

US utility Georgia Power has identified locations for 500 MW/2 GWh of new battery energy storage systems (BESS), leveraging existing sites and transmission infrastructure to reduce deployment time and avoid additional capital investment otherwise required.

The four projects were authorized by the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) earlier this year as part of the utility’s 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Update. According to the company’s recent filing with the Georgia PSC, the portfolio of BESS resources proposed by Georgia Power helps address the resource needs identified in the 2023 IRP Update in a cost-effective and strategic manner.

Once developed, the four-hour BESS projects will “serve as dispatchable capacity resources that will provide customers with a reliable and economical source of electricity for the winter of 2026/2027,” the utility said in a statement.

These projects include the 128 MW Robins BESS located in Bibb County, adjacent to an existing solar farm. The location eliminates the need to construct new transmission generator step-up (GSU) project-level substations as well as potential expenses and long lead time projects associated with transmission interconnection and network upgrades, according to the utility.

Similarly, the 49.5 Moody BESS in Lowndes County is paired with an operational solar facility to leverage existing infrastructure.

The 57.5 MW Hammond BESS in Floyd County is a standalone system that leverages existing infrastructure from the retired coal-fired Plant Hammond facility.

The 265 MW McGrau Ford Phase II in Cherokee County is being colocated with the 265 MW McGrau Ford Phase I BESS, currently under construction and expected to enter service by the end of 2026. Georgia Power said it would realize efficiencies in contracting and construction by using the same construction company and company-owned land, as well as cost-effectively expanding the project level substation.

Each of the projects qualifies for customer cost reducing tax incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act. Once operational, the systems will primarely provide energy arbitrage services.    

In addition to the 500 MW BESS projects from the 2023 IRP Update and the McGrau Ford Phase I BESS project approved in the 2022 IRP, Georgia Power is nearing completion on the 65 MW Mossy Branch Battery Facility located in Talbot County, Georgia. Mossy Branch was approved in the 2019 IRP and will be Georgia Power’s first BESS resource.