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CONTACT: Blake House PHONE: 678-455-1510
EMCs IN GEORGIA MOVE TO NEXT PHASE IN SEARCH FOR WIND RESOURCES
(Cumming, April 11, 2007)– Green Power EMC, a joint effort by 31 of the state’s electric membership cooperatives (EMCs), including Sawnee EMC, to generate and sell green energy from renewable resources, has announced it will move to the next phase of its wind assessment project. “Preliminary results tell us that the wind data is challenging,” said Blake House, VP of Member Services with Sawnee EMC, “but a small-scale project could be feasible. A final decision will not be made until we get input from the local community and explore a number of regulatory, environmental and project design issues.” In 2005, Green Power EMC launched its wind assessment project to evaluate the potential of wind generation in Georgia. Working with Airtricity, wind data was gathered over a period of 12-18 months from a meteorological tower temporarily installed near the upper reservoir of Oglethorpe Power Corp.’s Rocky Mountain Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Plant in Floyd County. According to Mr. House, the next phase of the wind assessment could take from one to two years to complete. During that time, Green Power EMC will work with Oglethorpe Power Corp. to: 1) explore the necessary regulatory approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the FAA, among others; 2) conduct further environmental studies—to determine the impact on birds and bats, and view shed simulations to gauge the look of wind towers on the site; and 3) address design geophysical challenges and structural issues associated with construction at Rocky Mountain and the availability of adequate upper reservoir roads, to name a few. With data collection complete, Airtricity has performed an initial technical analysis, and early results indicate that the wind is strongest in the evenings during winter months and weakest in summer months. According to Mr. House, these early findings indicate that wind generation may help the EMCs reduce reliance on conventional fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas but would have a minimal impact on helping to meet summer peak energy demands, a time when energy consumption and energy prices are highest in Georgia. About Green Power EMC Green Power EMC is the state’s first renewable energy program and has generated over 100 million kWh of electricity from landfill gas, low-impact hydro and solar projects since October 2003. The Roberts Road landfill facility in Fayette County generates green energy from a one megawatt facility, along with energy from a four megawatt facility at the Taylor County landfill, and energy from a 2.2 megawatt capacity unit at the Tallassee Shoals low impact hydro facility near Athens. In addition, Green Power EMC introduced Sun Power for Schools in the 2005-2006 school year, the first statewide school program to showcase the benefits of solar energy. Participating EMCs partner with a middle or high school to install a photovoltaic system to harness energy from the sun. To date, EMCs have installed solar panels at 12 middle or high schools. A monitoring device allows students to see the amount of energy produced each day, and the accumulated data is used in math and science classes and is available on the Internet to share with other schools. Moreover, Green Power EMC has been seeking additional renewable resources to add to its generating capacity, recently announcing plans to purchase 20 megawatts of electricity from the first poultry litter-to-energy operation in Georgia. About Sawnee EMC: Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation is a distribution electric cooperative headquartered in Cumming, Georgia. Sawnee serves electricity to over 142,000 accounts in seven (7) counties of greater north Georgia. Sawnee’s assets exceed $368 million with annual energy sales of 2.23 billion kWh and revenue of over $201 million. With over 296 dedicated employees, Sawnee’s team of professionals meets the needs of its member-owners through its complex network of over 9,420 miles of distribution facilities. Georgia’s 42 electric cooperatives now serve more customers than any other state network of EMCs in the nation. For more information on Green Power EMC, visit www.greenpoweremc.com. About Airtricity Airtricity is a full-service developer, owner and operator of renewable power generation projects, with an exclusive focus on wind generation facilities. Based in Ireland, Airtricity has constructed more than 200 megawatts of wind generation in electricity markets in Europe and 215 megawatts in the United States, with more than 2,500 megawatts of wind generation under development. For more information on Airtricity, visit www.airtricity.com. |