On June 9, 2020, the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) unanimously voted to authorize Southern Company to buy, build, or contract for nearly 2 GW of natural gas resources to guarantee system resilience.[1] Previously, Alabama Power, a Southern Company subsidiary, had announced that it is switching from a summer-peaking to a winter-peaking system, and proposed several expansions in solar, energy efficiency, and natural gas for a total of about $1.1 billion. According to Alabama Power, the additions are part of a nearly 20% fleet capacity increase necessary for resilience. In addition to the approval of natural gas, about 200 MW of energy efficiency programs were approved. However, regulators did not approve the five proposed solar-plus-storage projects, stating that those resource additions should be considered on a separate docket not focused on resiliency.

The decision not to include solar-plus-storage has received backlash from environmental groups who claim that the solar-plus-storage projects would have saved customers more. According to Docket participants from Energy Alabama and the Southern Environmental Law Center, an environmental advocacy group and an environmental public interest law firm, respectively, Alabama Power’s analysis showed solar-plus-storage options were the least costly solution.[2]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNRjWy1IgJo

[2] https://www.southernenvironment.org/news-and-press/press-releases/psc-approves-alabama-powers-1-billion-gas-expansion