State regulators approve Georgia Power biomass plans despite concerns over cost

Georgia Public Service Chairman Jason Shaw has said he embraced biomass energy after the south Georgia resident witnessed the large number of fallen trees and debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in 2019. Dan Chapman/U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Georgia regulators have signed off on a controversial Georgia Power plan to build new biomass power plants that will burn wood pellets and other organic material to generate electricity.

With a 4-1 vote Tuesday, the Georgia Public Service Commission endorsed Georgia Power’s plans to add nearly 80 megawatts of biomass energy, a move that critics contend will result in extensive cost overruns affecting ratepayers for several decades to come.

The state regulatory body approved agreements for Georgia Power to purchase biomass energy from three facilities that will convert wood pellets and waste from timber and paper mills into enough electricity to power thousands of homes and businesses.

The biggest controversy is over a proposed 30-year agreement with Altamaha Green Energy for a Wayne County facility for 70 megawatts of biomass.

The two other agreements are 10-year contracts with International Paper for a total of 8 megawatts of biomass that would burn paper mill waste and materials at existing facilities located in Macon County in south Georgia and Chatham County on the coast.

Georgia Power officials project that the Wayne County power plant, which would primarily burn wood pellets, will be completed by the end of 2029.

Several environmentalists question whether state regulators’ support for the biomass projects gave too much weight to the economic benefits of new jobs created by the timber industry.

PSC Commissioner Tricia Pridemore cast the lone dissenting vote Tuesday in opposition of the three biomass purchasing agreements.

The biomass projects were included in Georgia Power’s 2022 Integrated Resource Plan, a three-year blueprint which was amended at the request of PSC Chairman Jason Shaw to require Georgia Power to seek bids to develop more biomass.

Shaw and groups like the Georgia Forestry Association tout biomass as a diverse, reliable energy source that benefits the timber industry.

Shaw referenced the large amount of comments filed online regarding the biomass agreements, which included opponents speaking out and letters of support from agribusiness organizations.

“There’s a lot of strong opinions on this docket, and (there’s) a stack of comments that have been filed mostly online from folks,” Shaw said Tuesday. “And then there’s support letters from Georgia Farm Bureau and Georgia Agribusiness Council and Georgia Forestry Association and Dean of the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. We realized the nature of that but I just wanted to thank our staff, the company, the interveners and everyone that’s taking part in this important decision.”

The financial details of Georgia Power’s biomass purchase agreement have not been disclosed publicly, but Georgia Power officials acknowledged at a PSC hearing last month that the cost to add the biomass is higher than other energy sources.

Independent utility evaluator Harold Judd, who is president of Accion Group LLC, projects the cost to generate biomass at the Altamaha plant will be about three times higher than the estimated average price for new energy sources in 2028, according to an analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

And advocacy groups like Georgia Interfaith Power and Light say the method of energy production releases more climate-warming pollution than burning coal.

Codi Norred, the group’s executive director, also argued that any potential economic benefit will not be enough to offset the cost to customers.

“It is unconscionable that commissioners would demand Georgia Power customers subsidize a dirty, expensive industry when too many of them are struggling to pay rising energy bills,” Norred said. “It’s clear the commission has no intention of protecting customers. They have made their priorities plain: grant Georgia Power’s request no matter the cost to customers.”

Prior to Tuesday’s vote, the PSC heard testimony and attorneys cross-examine Georgia Power officials about the biomass expansion contracts. The PSC board reviewed evidence and testimony submitted by regulatory staff, utility analysts, public policy experts, and clean energy advocates and the state forestry industry.