Georgia Power plans 500 MW of four-hour BESS capacity to come onstream by early 2027

 Georgia Power has revealed the sites for 500 MW of new battery energy storage systems (BESS) that were authorized by the Georgia Public Service Commission earlier this year.

The sites were announced as part of the company's 2023 Integrated Resource Plan Update. Each of the proposed battery stations will use a 4-hour duration BESS. They are expected to come fully online by the winter of 2026-27, offering "dispatchable capacity resources that will provide customers with a reliable and economical source of electricity," the company said in a release. The new facilities planned and under development are: 

• McGrau Ford Site Phase II BESS (Cherokee County, 265 MW). This will serve as a brownfield expansion of the 265 MW McGrau Ford Phase I project. Georgia Power said it would use the same construction company developing Phase I of the McGrau Ford project, making Phase II economical. The company will also expand the project-level substation and generation tie line from Phase I to support Phase II, rather than construct new infrastructure for the second phase.
• Robins BESS (Bibb County, 128 MW). This site is strategic; it is co-located with a solar facility adjacent to the Robins Air Force Base and allows Georgia Power to leverage existing transmission infrastructure.
• Moody BESS (Lowndes County, 49.5 MW). Similar to the Robins BESS project, this site is co-located with an existing solar facility adjacent to the Moody Air Force Base and allows Georgia Power to leverage existing infrastructure. The site also offers expedited deployment capabilities and ensures known transmission deliverability, the company claimed.
• Hammond BESS (Floyd County, 57.5 MW). A standalone BESS, Hammond project repurposes the coal-fired Plant Hammond facility, benefiting again from existing infrastructure and already-identified transmission capacity.

In addition to the 500 MW BESS projects above, Georgia Power has two other BESS projects under development. These include the 65 MW Mossy Branch Battery Facility in Talbot County, Georgia (approved in 2019 and currently nearing completion), and the 265 MW McGrau Ford Phase I, approved in 2022, which is expected to come online by the end of 2026.