Construction underway on 765MW BESS in Georgia, US

In the US, Georgia Power has started construction on new battery energy storage systems (BESS) to meet demand from data centres and electrification.

Georgia Power’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) filed with the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) anticipates approximately 8,200MW of electrical load growth by 2030 – an increase of more than 2,200MW compared to projections in its 2023 IRP update, which called for the construction of a swath of new BESS to help answer the call of data centres and mass electrification.

Construction on those projects is officially underway.

In total, 765MW worth of new BESS will be strategically located across Georgia in Bibb, Lowndes, Floyd, and Cherokee counties. The systems will provide quickly dispatchable capacity for customers, improve overall reliability and resilience of the larger electric system, and enhance the value of intermittent renewable generation, like solar power.

“As we expand our diverse energy mix to include more renewable energy, which requires careful advance planning and flexibility to accommodate times when that source is not available, these batteries will be an invaluable part of the electric system,” predicted Rick Anderson, senior vice president and senior production officer for Georgia Power.

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Here’s what we know about each of the new battery energy storage systems:

• Robins BESS (Bibb County, 128MW): This strategic site is co-located with the existing solar facility adjacent to the Robins Air Force Base and allows Georgia Power to leverage existing infrastructure, thereby eliminating the need to construct new transmission generator step-up (GSU) project-level substations and eliminating potential expenses and long lead time projects associated with transmission interconnection and network upgrades. This project is being engineered and constructed by Burns & McDonnell and has a projected commercial operation date in June 2026.
• Moody BESS (Lowndes County, 49.5MW): Similar to the Robins BESS project, this strategic choice is co-located with the existing solar facility adjacent to the Moody Air Force Base and allows Georgia Power to leverage existing infrastructure, thereby eliminating the need for constructing new transmission GSU project-level substations and eliminating potential expenses and long lead time projects associated with interconnection and network upgrades. It also offers expedited deployment capabilities and ensures known transmission deliverability. This project is being engineered and constructed by Crowder Industrial Construction and has a projected commercial operation date in May 2026.
• Hammond BESS (Floyd County, 57.5MW):  The Hammond BESS project is a standalone BESS that leverages existing infrastructure from the retired coal-fired Plant Hammond facility. With the repurposing of an existing generation site and the utilization of already identified transmission capacity, the Hammond BESS project provides significant benefits to customers while aiding the company in meeting its capacity needs. This project is being engineered and constructed by Crowder Industrial Construction and has a projected commercial operation date in November 2026.
• McGrau Ford Phase I & II BESS (Cherokee County, 530MW):  Given the existing site work, land acquisition, and contracting for McGrau Ford Phase I BESS, Georgia Power will realise efficiencies in contracting and construction by using the same construction company and company-owned land. In addition, the preliminary design for McGrau Ford Phase I BESS provides an opportunity for Georgia Power to cost-effectively expand the project-level substation and generation tie line rather than construct a new project-level substation. These projects are being engineered and constructed by Burns & McDonnell, and Phases I & II have projected commercial operation dates in October 2026 and September 2026, respectively.

Building on Previous BESS: 2025 and Beyond

In February 2024, Georgia Power installed its first grid-connected BESS, the Mossy Branch Energy Facility, a 65 MW system on a couple of acres of rural countryside in Talbot County, north of Columbus, GA. It was approved as part of Georgia Power’s 2019 IRP.

“We know our customers depend on us to make the investments in our state’s power grid needed to deliver reliable energy to their homes and businesses around the clock,” said Kim Greene, chairman, president, and CEO of Georgia Power at the Mossy Branch site when it was commissioned. “The Mossy Branch facility is an incredibly valuable addition to our grid, and commercial operation of this site is a significant milestone in our continued work with the Georgia PSC to evolve and enhance Georgia’s power grid.”

Georgia Power continues to work with the Georgia PSC to procure and develop BESS projects across the state. An additional 1,000MW of new battery energy storage is expected to be procured in the coming years through competitive bidding processes, and a 13MW demonstration project is in development at Fort Stewart Army Installation near Savannah, GA. All-source capacity Request for Proposals (RFPs) proposed in the 2025 and 2022 IRPs are also expected to include BESS assets.

In its 2025 IRP, Georgia Power proposes continued investments in existing power plants already in operation, including:

• Extended power uprates to units at Plant Hatch and Plant Vogtle
  With the completion of Units 3 & 4 at Plant Vogtle, Georgia is now home to the largest generator of clean energy in the US, and Georgia Power continues to argue the importance of additional nuclear capacity for Georgia’s energy future. In this IRP, the company has proposed additional investment in Hatch Units 1 & 2 and Vogtle Units 1 & 2 to enable those units to deliver an additional 112MW to Georgia Power customers.
• Extensions and upgrades to existing power plants
  The company’s integration of “cleaner natural gas” (which it says has helped reduce overall carbon emissions by more than 60% since 2007) into its fleet continues in the 2025 IRP, with additional upgrades planned for Plant McIntosh near Savannah that would add an additional 268MW of capacity. The company has also proposed the extended operation of certain coal and natural gas units through at least 2034, with additional upgrades and compliance activities planned at multiple facilities. This effort includes the continued operation of coal-fired units at Plants Bowen and Scherer, which have served Georgia Power customers for decades with approximately 4,000MW of electricity.
• Continued investment to modernise and operate Georgia’s hydro fleet
  Georgia Power’s fleet of hydroelectric generating units is another source of emission-free energy, with some units serving the state of Georgia for more than 100 years. The 2025 IRP continues the company’s efforts to modernize its hydro fleet with new projects for nine existing hydro plants, including critical replacements and refurbishments needed for turbines, generators, and other equipment. These units have not been previously approved for modernization, and these efforts are expected to allow them to operate for at least another 40 years while improving the efficiency and integrity of the hydro fleet and preserving valuable, dispatchable carbon-free resources for the long-term benefit of customers.

Originally published by Paul Gerke on Factor This.