Georgia Power has received the first of three new natural gas turbines at Plant Yates in Coweta County, Georgia. The turbine, assembled at Mitsubishi Power’s Savannah Machinery Works facility, was transported to the site using rail and truck. It weighs nearly 350 tons and measures 50 feet long by 18 feet wide. These new units are the first natural gas turbines added to Georgia Power’s fleet in a decade and will provide a total of 1,300 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity once all are operational.
Plant Yates began commercial operation in 1950 and has played a significant role in supporting Georgia’s energy needs. Five of its seven coal-fired units were decommissioned in 2014, with the remaining two converted to natural gas generation. The addition of three new units is expected to create about 600 jobs during construction and add 15 permanent positions when completed, increasing the plant workforce to 75 full-time employees.
The project was approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) as part of the company’s 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Update. The new turbines are expected to be online by the end of 2027 to address growing energy demand across Georgia.
“At Georgia Power, we know our customers depend on us for reliable and affordable energy that is available around the clock whenever they need it at their homes or businesses,” said Rick Anderson, senior vice president and senior production officer for Georgia Power. “We continue to work with the Georgia PSC to enhance and expand our diverse generation mix to meet the needs of customers not only today, but decades into the future. The new natural gas units at Plant Yates will be a great addition to our fleet, using existing property and infrastructure to deliver the best overall value for customers and providing exciting new investment at a plant that has been an economic driver in Coweta County for decades.”
The advanced class Mitsubishi Power M501JAC combustion turbines offer higher output and efficiency compared to earlier designs. These air-cooled models eliminate steam cooling requirements, allow start-up within approximately 30 minutes, and have a lower turn down rate. They can also operate on oil if natural gas becomes unavailable due to built-in flexibility with on-site oil storage capability. With future modifications, these turbines could use hydrogen blends as fuel—a technology that is advancing industry-wide as companies seek ways to reduce carbon emissions. Georgia Power recently partnered with Mitsubishi Power on a hydrogen-blending project at Plant McDonough-Atkinson.
“The delivery of our M501JAC advanced-class gas turbines to Plant Yates marks an important step in supporting Georgia’s growing demand for reliable, efficient energy generation,” said Cheryl Boddiford, senior vice president of North American Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management at Mitsubishi Power. “Assembled at our Savannah Machinery Works facility, these units not only reflect our long-standing partnership with Georgia Power, but also symbolize Mitsubishi Power’s commitment to U.S.-based manufacturing and skilled workforce development. We’re proud to help deliver the flexible, high-performance turbine technology that will keep Georgia powered now and in the years ahead.”
Natural gas accounts for about 40 percent of Georgia Power’s annual energy generation mix. The company works through its IRP process with state regulators like the PSC to ensure it can reliably serve an expanding customer base.
Georgia Power is also upgrading other power plants across the state; recent approval was given for combined cycle and simple cycle upgrades on all combustion turbines at Plant McIntosh near Savannah under its latest IRP plan for 2025. These upgrades will add another 268 MW of capacity from existing infrastructure (https://www.georgiapower.com/company/news-center/2024-articles/georgia-power-receives-approval-for-2025-integrated-resource-plan.html).
Additionally, as part of a recent all-source RFP certification filing with regulators, five new combined cycle units totaling nearly 3,700 MW have been proposed across several sites including Plants Bowen, McIntosh, and Wansley (https://psc.ga.gov/search/?q=all-source%20RFP). These additions aim to support grid stability amid projected increases in statewide electricity demand.
For more information about how Georgia Power is planning its energy portfolio through resource planning processes like IRPs visit www.GeorgiaPower.com.
