Southern Company, Georgia Tech Wind Power Study Finds Potentially Favorable Conditions for Offshore Generation Pending Resolution of Economic, Regulatory Issues

    ATLANTA, June 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southern Company said today
 that a thorough two-year study conducted with the Georgia Institute of
 Technology has identified several conditions potentially favorable for wind
 power generation off the coast of Georgia, but that high costs and
 regulatory issues still need to be resolved.
     (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020207/SOCOLOGO )
     Launched in 2005, the joint study examined in detail a variety of
 factors -- including wind resources, technology, siting, environmental,
 weather conditions, permitting and economics -- associated with sites off
 Georgia's coast. In conclusion, the study recommended that Southern Company
 continue to pursue the potential development of wind energy resources in
 the state's coastal waters.
     "We continue to believe that renewable energy resources, including
 wind, need to be a part of our energy supply portfolio. We will continue to
 pursue this and other renewable energy options that allow us to provide
 reliable and affordable electricity to our customers," said Leonard Haynes,
 Southern Company executive vice president for supply technologies,
 renewables and demand-side planning.
     "We believe that given the available wind resources and the extent of
 the shallow water continental shelf there is considerable ultimate
 potential for wind power generation off the coast of Georgia. While the
 20-year levelized cost of wind power is higher than current production from
 existing power plants, off shore wind power may become a viable option for
 green power generation. We therefore, support the conclusion that
 development of offshore wind power should be pursued," said Sam Shelton,
 Strategic Energy Institute research program director.
     Currently, the Department of Interior Minerals Management Service (MMS)
 has jurisdiction over alternative energy-related projects on the outer
 continental shelf, including wind power developments. MMS is currently
 outlining the permitting requirements for such projects, a process that
 should be completed in late 2008. Until these regulations are finalized,
 only limited activities to develop an offshore wind farm in federal waters
 may be conducted.
     Though the Southeast in general does not have sufficient wind speeds to
 effectively support wind power generation, the conditions are better
 starting about five miles off the Georgia coast, the study said. The
 average wind speeds there are about 16-17 mph. Wind technologies currently
 available typically require sustained winds of 14 mph or greater.
     Among other key findings, the water in the area is relatively shallow,
 which could make it easier to establish the foundations of a wind farm.
 Also, the study said, existing electrical substations on Jekyll Island and
 Tybee Island are the two locations with the best potential for connecting
 power from an offshore wind farm to the transmission grid.
     Of the two locations determined to be feasible for development, the
 study noted that Tybee Island was better suited because the turbines would
 be less visible from the beach, the wind resource is slightly better and it
 is closer to industrial and maintenance resources.
     However, the study found that based on today's prices for wind
 turbines, the 20-year levelized cost of electricity produced from an
 offshore wind farm would be significantly higher than the current
 production costs from existing power generation facilities.
     Among the reasons for the high costs are the additional case-hardened
 cabling that would be required to locate the stations far enough offshore
 to minimize the view from land and take advantage of the greater wind
 speeds. Another significant issue is the additional cost of construction
 and maintenance of a facility in the ocean. While specific installation and
 maintenance infrastructure is in place in Europe, the offshore wind
 industry is in its infancy in the United States.
     "Provided regulatory and technological hurdles can be overcome and the
 communities we serve favor this approach, we will continue to explore
 developing both off- and on-shore wind energy for our customers," said
 Haynes.
     Southern Company is currently involved in a variety of renewable energy
 projects, including extensive research into the use of biomass, which has
 yielded promising results for the use of materials such as switchgrass and
 wood chips to produce energy. Through its subsidiaries, Southern Company
 also offers customers the opportunity to purchase "green" energy from
 renewable sources such as a generating plant in DeKalb County, Ga., that
 provides electricity produced from landfill gas to Georgia Power.
     The Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the nation's premier
 research universities. Ranked eighth among U.S. News & World Report's top
 public universities, Georgia Tech's 17,000 students are enrolled in its
 Colleges of Architecture, Computing, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Management
 and Sciences. Tech is among the nation's top producers of women and
 African- American engineers. The Institute offers research opportunities to
 both undergraduate and graduate students and is home to more than 100
 interdisciplinary units plus the Georgia Tech Research Institute.
     Georgia Tech's Strategic Energy Institute (SEI) serves as a conduit for
 integrating, facilitating, and enabling Institute-wide programs in energy
 research and development. Engaging the best and brightest from industry,
 government, and academia, SEI creates innovative solutions to current and
 future energy challenges.
     With 4.3 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating
 capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company ( SO) is the premier energy
 company serving the Southeast, one of America's fastest-growing regions. A
 leading U.S. producer of electricity, Southern Company owns electric
 utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as
 well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands
 are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail
 electric prices that are significantly below the national average. Southern
 Company has been listed the top ranking U.S. electric service provider in
 customer satisfaction for seven consecutive years by the American Customer
 Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Visit our Web site at www.southerncompany.com.
 
 

SOURCE Southern Company