Across the U.S., high demand for electric power means utilities ignore incentives to rely on renewables and look to fossil fuels instead.
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with WABE and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Georgia is enjoying an economic boom. Lured by tax breaks, high-tech data centers and manufacturers are flooding the state. It's a trend state leaders are celebrating at every opportunity. "We have seen over 171,000 new jobs come to our communities, we brought in over $74.5 billion of investment to the state," Governor Brian Kemp told a gathering of lawmakers, business leaders, and other Georgia bigwigs earlier this year. But that growth has created a problem: all the new businesses need lots of electricity. To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Here's How The state's largest electric utility, Georgia Power, now says it needs significantly more energy, significantly sooner than planned to meet the spike in demand. So the company is asking to buy and generate that electricity. Their plan calls for solar power coupled with battery storage, but it relies heavily on fossil fuels, including three brand new turbines to be powered with oil and natural gas. Customers and clean energy advocates alike are decrying this plan. Large groups of students and medical professionals have dominated the public comment sections of hearings over Georgia Power's request, pleading with the state's Public Service Commission to reject it. Reader support helps sustain our work. Donate today to keep our climate news free. One Time Monthly $120 $180 Other Donate $10 $15 Other Donate "Fossil fuels kill. They kill our ecosystems, they kill our people, and more importantly, fossil fuels will kill our future generations," Emory University student Dakota Tauteeq told the commissioners. A version of this is playing out all over the country, because for the first time in years, power demand is growing. Electricity-hungry…