Georgia Magazine - June 2023 - 14

Currents
News from Georgia's electric co-ops * Compiled by Amy Schneider
Officials 'flip switch' on EMCs'
largest collaborative solar project
G
reen Power Electric
Membership Corp. (EMC) in
Tucker and Silicon Ranch, a
renewable-energy company based in
Nashville, Tenn., joined local officials,
neighbors and White Oak Pastures to
" flip the switch " on the 106-megawatt
(MWac) Clay Solar Project in Bluffton
on April 25. The energy generated by
the Clay Solar Project is shared by 30
EMCs statewide, and it will generate
enough energy to help serve more than
17,000 EMC households annually.
Attendees at the event included
State Rep. Gerald Greene (R-Cuthbert),
the Clay County Board of Commissioners
and representatives from the Clay
County Development Authority.
Participants toured the solar project
and learned about the innovative
regenerative agriculture practices deployed there.
The Clay Solar Project is the ninth utilityscale
solar project to reach operational status
for Green Power EMC and Silicon Ranch. The
partners' portfolio collectively generates more
than 550 MWac of energy, enough to help power
more than 90,000 EMC households annually.
Last year, the partners announced an additional
collaboration to develop three more projects,
totaling 252 MWac, by the end of 2024.
Green Power EMC President Jeff Pratt said
the Clay County project marks the largest
collaborative solar project brought online by
Georgia's electric cooperatives, which lead the
nation among electric cooperatives for utilityscale
solar deployment.
" Georgia's EMCs continue to grow their
renewable-energy portfolio with low-cost
solar-power projects that deliver value to their
members and the rural communities the facilities
are located in, " Pratt said. " By working together,
EMCs are helping to meet the growing renewableenergy
demands of Georgia's homes and businesses,
while supporting economic development
in some of the state's most rural communities. "
The Clay Solar Project officially reached
commercial operation in December.
When the project in Clay County was
14 Georgia Magazine June 2023
Officials " flip the switch " to celebrate the completion of the Clay Solar Project in Bluffton
on April 25.
Green Power EMC's and Silicon Ranch's portfolio
collectively generates more than 550 MWac
of energy, enough to help power more than
90,000 EMC households annually.
announced in 2018, White Oak Pastures owner Will Harris invited
Silicon Ranch to visit Bluffton. Harris introduced Silicon Ranch
leadership to the methods of planned livestock grazing and
regenerative agricultural practices that his family had been
deploying at White Oak Pastures for more than two decades.
(To learn more about White Oak Pastures and its commitment to
regenerative agriculture, read the Georgia Magazine story in the
March issue at bit.ly/gmag0323whiteoak.)
The result was a new partnership and an innovative model for
the solar industry that Silicon Ranch calls Regenerative Energy.
This holistic approach to project design, construction and land
management now is deployed across thousands of acres the
company owns and manages across the country.
" There are no losers in this deal, " Harris said. " The Silicon Ranch
land will remain pastoral. Our rural community gets much-needed
jobs and a new renewable-energy project to be proud of. "
Silicon Ranch also developed and funded a gopher tortoise
sanctuary in partnership with the Georgia Department of Natural
Resources, relocating gopher tortoises to additional land that
Silicon Ranch owns in Clay County.
-Blair Romero
BAILEY GARROT

http://bit.ly/gmag0323whiteoak

Georgia Magazine - June 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - June 2023