Habersham EMC is expanding its use of renewable energy. The local electric cooperative has agreed to purchase solar energy generated by four new facilities being built in middle and south Georgia.
Nashville-based Silicon Ranch will own and operate the facilities and Green Power EMC will purchase the energy produced over a 30-year period on behalf of HEMC and 29 other electric co-ops.
The sun’s energy will be collected by ground mounted, single-axis tracking arrays. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year. The facilities are expected to generate 194 megawatts of clean, low-cost, solar energy by the year 2021. That’s enough power to serve approximately 35,000 EMC households, according to HEMC President and CEO Bradley Hicks.
Related: Habersham EMC unveils cooperative solar program
“We are excited to be a part of this major expansion of solar energy in Georgia,” says Hicks. “Our commitment to expanding the state’s renewable resources by adding more solar energy to our generation portfolio not only makes economic sense, it will help to ensure cost- effective, clean energy well into the future.”
Silicon Ranch currently has two operating facilities in Georgia, according to the company’s website. Hicks says this latest project is the result of a request for proposals to add more solar energy to Green Power EMC’s growing portfolio. The additional supply will more than double Green Power’s renewable capacity, from 283 megawatts in 2018 to approximately 676 megawatts in 2021.
File photo courtesy of Silicon Ranch
