Georgia Power leaders joined elected officials from the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), Georgia legislature, and Talbot and Muscogee counties to mark commercial operation of the company's first "grid-connected" battery energy storage system (BESS).
The Mossy Branch Battery Facility is capable of 65 megawatts (MW) of battery storage that can be deployed back to the grid over a four-hour period, adding resiliency to the state's power grid and helping ensure reliable energy for a growing Georgia.
The Mossy Branch facility was approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission as part of Georgia Power's 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and is a standalone storage unit that connects with and charges directly from the electric grid.
BESS projects like Mossy Branch support the overall reliability and resilience of the electric system, while also enhancing the value of intermittent renewable generation resources such as solar. Storage systems can improve the efficiency of renewable energy by storing excess energy produced during periods when the demand for electricity is lower, for use when the demand is higher, such as on cold winter mornings. Because battery storage can provide stored energy to the grid for hours on demand, BESS resources enhance the overall reliability of the electric system.
Georgia Power's first battery energy storage system reaches commercial operation
The Mossy Branch Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility and is a standalone storage unit that connects with and charges directly from the electric grid.
“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 on Thursday. “Battery energy 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. 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 worked with industry leader Wärtsilä to provide the engineering, procurement and construction services for the Mossy Branch facility. The project utilizes the GEMS Digital Energy Platform, Wärtsilä's energy management system, to manage the facility and provide secure operations, and is built with Wärtsilä's Quantum, a fully integrated, modular, and compact energy storage system.
Georgia Power continues to work with the Georgia PSC to procure and develop BESS projects across Georgia. In addition to the Mossy Branch facility, Georgia Power is developing the 265 MW McGrau Ford Phase I BESS project in Cherokee County. This project was approved in the 2022 IRP, and Georgia Power expects it to enter service by the end of 2026.
An additional 1,000 MW of new battery energy storage is expected to be procured in the coming years through competitive bidding processes and, in August, Georgia Power also announced the locations of 500 MW of new BESS projects that will be owned by the company. These new company-owned projects include 128 MW located adjacent to Robins Air Force Base (Bibb County); 49.5 MW located adjacent to Moody Air Force Base (Lowndes County); 57.5 MW located on the former Plant Hammond site (Floyd County); and 265 MW as a second phase of BESS at McGrau Ford.
