Oglethorpe Power to Build Three 100MW Biomass-Fired Facilities in Georgia

Oglethorpe Power is planning to build as many as three 100MW biomass electric generating facilities in Georgia, US.

According to the company, designed to utilize woody biomass, the power plants will be carbon-neutral and provide power to Oglethorpe Power’s 38-member co-operatives, which supply electricity to nearly half of Georgia’s population.

Oglethorpe Power has secured options for five potential sites in Appling, Echols, Warren and Washington counties. The first two biomass power plants are scheduled to be built and placed into operation in 2014 and 2015, however, which of the five sites will host the first plants is still to be determined. A third unit could also be completed and placed into service in 2015.

The capital investment in the biomass plants will range from $400 million to $500 million per facility, with each providing approximately 40 full-time jobs. In addition, each plant will require an annual investment of more than $30 million for fuel stock alone and will create a need for potentially hundreds of new jobs in the state’s forestry industry.