Electricity utility Georgia Power and Yellow Pine Energy Company, a biomass-fired facility to be located near Fort Gaines, Georgia, have signed a 20-year contract for the supply of electricity that will be generated from environmentally friendly wood waste.
The Yellow Pine facility is scheduled to go into operation in 2010 and will produce 110MW of renewable energy. Under the contract, Georgia Power will purchase almost half of the plant’s capacity.
The Yellow Pine contract is reportedly the largest contract to date that Georgia Power has signed with a renewable generator. With the addition of this contract, Georgia Power’s energy portfolio includes contracts with five qualified biomass and renewable facilities throughout the state that generate 80MW.
Georgia Power stated that renewable electricity from biomass is growing rapidly in the state. In 2006, the Georgia legislature passed a bill that exempts biomass from fuel sales and use taxes, thereby making it more cost competitive with traditional fuels.
In 2007, the Public Service Commission approved a plan for Georgia Power to increase the amount of renewable generation that can be built into its base rates to 90MW, and the development of a plan for additional renewable contracts in the future.