Georgia embraces renewables to feed data center demand

Utility regulators in Georgia have unanimously approved a groundbreaking program, the Customer Identified Resource program, designed to help meet the state's surging electricity demand, particularly from energy-intensive data centers. This new framework, a first for the Southeast, allows large power customers to identify and directly fund their own clean energy projects, with the potential to secure up to 3 gigawatts of clean energy by 2035. The approval by the Georgia Public Service Commission follows years of advocacy from the Corporate Energy Buyers Association, a trade group representing major tech companies like Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft. These companies are keen to access more carbon-free energy to power their operations. Supporters believe the program could serve as a model for other states grappling with increasing electricity needs and navigating dominant utility structures, such as Georgia Power, the state's largest utility.