First Georgia Power battery storage project enters commercial operation

Georgia Power's first 'grid-connected' battery energy storage system (BESS) has gone into commercial operation, the Atlanta-based utility announced Friday. The Mossy Branch Battery facility in west-central Georgia's Talbot County will generate 65 megawatts of battery storage that can be deployed back to the grid during a four-hour period, adding resiliency to the state's power grid.

The state Public Service Commission (PSC) approved Mossy Branch as a demonstration project back in 2021 to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of producing power through battery storage.

'Battery storage is an example of a new technology that will make our grid more reliable and resilient every day, and especially during extreme weather events such as Hurricane Helene or (2022's) Winter Storm Elliott,' said Kim Greene, Georgia Power's chairman, president and CEO.

'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.' While the Mossy Branch facility is Georgia's first BESS, others are in the pipeline. Georgia Power expects to bring the 265-megawatt Mc-Grau Ford Phase I project in Cherokee County into commercial service by the end of 2026.

The PSC is expected to vote next month to authorize a second phase of the McGrau Ford project as well as BESS projects adjacent to Robins Air Force Base in Bibb County and Moody Air Force Base in Lowndes County, and at Georgia Power's retired coal-burning Plant Hammond in Floyd County.