Georgia Power has broken ground on new battery energy storage systems (BESS) totaling 765MW across the state of Georgia, marking a major milestone in the utility's plans to meet rapidly growing electricity demand.

The construction, underway in Bibb, Lowndes, Floyd, and Cherokee counties, is part of the company's efforts to support increasing loads driven by data centers and electrification. These installations were approved under the 2022 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and its 2023 update, with additional support in the 2025 IRP, which forecasts approximately 8,200MW of load growth by 2030--over 2,200MW more than previously anticipated.

The McGrau Ford Battery Facility in Cherokee County is the first of these projects to begin construction, featuring a 530MW system to be built in two phases.

The BESS units are expected to provide rapidly dispatchable capacity, enhance system reliability, and support intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar.

"These batteries will be an invaluable part of the electric system," said Rick Anderson, Senior Vice President and Senior Production Officer at Georgia Power. "They provide the flexibility needed as we add more renewables to our mix."

Source: smart-energy.com