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Released November 22, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) is expanding its role in renewable energy with the continued development of major solar and hydropower facilities. But the company also acknowledges some of its coal-fired generation facilities might stay open longer than previously anticipated, largely due to the growing demand for energy from data centers. Industrial Info is tracking more than $6.7 billion worth of active and proposed projects from Southern, including nearly $1 billion worth of renewable-energy projects.
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing Southern's active and proposed projects, by fuel type.
Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, announced this week it would pursue an additional expansion of its Millers Branch Solar Facility in Haskell, Texas, which started construction on its $300 million first phase in January. This will be followed by a $180 million second phase, which will begin construction upon completion of the first phase in first-quarter 2025. Southern announced this week it would pursue another expansion that would "achieve commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2026," but it did not provide any further details on a timeline.
The initial phase of the project is expected to generate 200 megawatts (MW) from 470,820 photovoltaic (PV) panels provided by Canadian Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:CSIQ) (Guelph, Ontario); the second phase is expected to generate 180 MW from a similar number of panels. The proposed, 132-MW third phase would bring the facility's total generating capacity to 512 MW.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Plant and Project databases can learn more about Millers Branch from a detailed plant profile and detailed reports on Phase I and Phase II.
"Southern Power signed power purchase agreements with Synopsys Incorporated (NASDAQ:SNPS) (Sunnyvale, California) and Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) (Santa Rosa, California) for environmental attributes, such as renewable energy credits, produced under their respective shares of the Millers Branch Solar Facility," Southern said in a press release. "Sustainability Roundtable Incorporated (Boston, Massachusetts) supported the power purchase agreement for Synopsys, the anchor tenant."
Southern's other renewable-generation projects are focused largely on hydropower, including the $175 million modernization of the Unit 1 turbine at its Bartletts Ferry Hydro Power Station in Salem, Alabama, which is set to wrap up toward the end of the year. The company plans to improve efficiency and extend the service life of the 173-MW unit by replacing an outdated turbine with a newer model from Voith (Heidenheim, Germany). Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.
Georgia is home to two other hydro-modernization projects from Southern, both of which are slated to wrap up in the first quarter of 2025: the $45 million modernization of units 1 to 3 at the Tugalo Hydro Power Plant in Tallulah Falls, which generate 45 MW, and the $25 million modernization of Unit 1 at the Oliver Dam Hydro Station in Columbus, which generates 18 MW. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Tallulah Falls and Columbus projects.
"We serve a lot of load-serving entities, [including] investor-owned utilities, municipalities and co-ops," said Dan Tucker, the chief financial officer of Southern Company, in a recent quarterly earnings-related conference call. "But we also--particularly in our renewable portfolio--serve a lot of large commercial and industrial customers directly through contract. They may be in structured markets, but it's ultimately a contract with an individual customer."
Coal Plants Keep Chugging Along
Despite their plans to bolster renewable energy, Southern executives have acknowledged the surging demand for energy from data centers, especially those that provide artificial intelligence (AI) services, could extend the life of at least one of its coal-fired power plants.
"As we look at responding to demand growth, looking at coal operating longer is a consideration," Chief Executive Officer Chris Womack recently told Bloomberg. "Maybe those units get extended further into the next decade before they retire," he said, referring to units at Southern's Bowen Plant in Cartersville, Georgia.
Georgia Power, a Southern subsidiary, in 2022 proposed retiring two coal-fired units at Bowen by the end of 2028, but the plan was rejected state regulators. Regulators will take another look at the Bowen units when Georgia Power submits its next integrated resource plan (IRP) in 2025. Subscribers can learn more about Bowen from a detailed plant profile.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.
Subscribers can click here for a full list of detailed reports for active and proposed projects from Southern Company.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing Southern's active and proposed projects, by fuel type.Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, announced this week it would pursue an additional expansion of its Millers Branch Solar Facility in Haskell, Texas, which started construction on its $300 million first phase in January. This will be followed by a $180 million second phase, which will begin construction upon completion of the first phase in first-quarter 2025. Southern announced this week it would pursue another expansion that would "achieve commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2026," but it did not provide any further details on a timeline.
The initial phase of the project is expected to generate 200 megawatts (MW) from 470,820 photovoltaic (PV) panels provided by Canadian Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:CSIQ) (Guelph, Ontario); the second phase is expected to generate 180 MW from a similar number of panels. The proposed, 132-MW third phase would bring the facility's total generating capacity to 512 MW.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Plant and Project databases can learn more about Millers Branch from a detailed plant profile and detailed reports on Phase I and Phase II.
"Southern Power signed power purchase agreements with Synopsys Incorporated (NASDAQ:SNPS) (Sunnyvale, California) and Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) (Santa Rosa, California) for environmental attributes, such as renewable energy credits, produced under their respective shares of the Millers Branch Solar Facility," Southern said in a press release. "Sustainability Roundtable Incorporated (Boston, Massachusetts) supported the power purchase agreement for Synopsys, the anchor tenant."
Southern's other renewable-generation projects are focused largely on hydropower, including the $175 million modernization of the Unit 1 turbine at its Bartletts Ferry Hydro Power Station in Salem, Alabama, which is set to wrap up toward the end of the year. The company plans to improve efficiency and extend the service life of the 173-MW unit by replacing an outdated turbine with a newer model from Voith (Heidenheim, Germany). Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.
Georgia is home to two other hydro-modernization projects from Southern, both of which are slated to wrap up in the first quarter of 2025: the $45 million modernization of units 1 to 3 at the Tugalo Hydro Power Plant in Tallulah Falls, which generate 45 MW, and the $25 million modernization of Unit 1 at the Oliver Dam Hydro Station in Columbus, which generates 18 MW. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Tallulah Falls and Columbus projects.
"We serve a lot of load-serving entities, [including] investor-owned utilities, municipalities and co-ops," said Dan Tucker, the chief financial officer of Southern Company, in a recent quarterly earnings-related conference call. "But we also--particularly in our renewable portfolio--serve a lot of large commercial and industrial customers directly through contract. They may be in structured markets, but it's ultimately a contract with an individual customer."
Coal Plants Keep Chugging Along
Despite their plans to bolster renewable energy, Southern executives have acknowledged the surging demand for energy from data centers, especially those that provide artificial intelligence (AI) services, could extend the life of at least one of its coal-fired power plants.
"As we look at responding to demand growth, looking at coal operating longer is a consideration," Chief Executive Officer Chris Womack recently told Bloomberg. "Maybe those units get extended further into the next decade before they retire," he said, referring to units at Southern's Bowen Plant in Cartersville, Georgia.
Georgia Power, a Southern subsidiary, in 2022 proposed retiring two coal-fired units at Bowen by the end of 2028, but the plan was rejected state regulators. Regulators will take another look at the Bowen units when Georgia Power submits its next integrated resource plan (IRP) in 2025. Subscribers can learn more about Bowen from a detailed plant profile.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.
Subscribers can click here for a full list of detailed reports for active and proposed projects from Southern Company.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
