One energy expert says the City of Atlanta’s mandate to use only renewable energy by 2035 is almost certain to be costly, and it may not even be practical.
The mandate, approved by the city earlier this year, calls for the city to use only clean renewable energy – right now solar and wind – in city buildings by 2025. The entire city is to be powered by those sources a decade after that.
As of now, solar is the only real option in Georgia, and it is an expensive one. And while Georgia utilities like Georgia Power are leading the way in developing renewables, they have done so without state mandates or unrealistic goals that could raise rates for customers. Through competitive programs, the marketplace is being allowed to determine the amount and the price of renewable energy that can be added on a large scale. The state of Georgia has recognized that setting goals without considering the impact for all customers could artificially raise energy prices.
Dr. James H. Rust, a retired Georgia Tech professor and a researcher at The Heartland Institute, said the difference in cost for producing electricity from fossil fuels and from renewable sources is not likely to equalize on its own. Only higher taxes for fossil fuels and subsidies for renewable energy is likely to reduce that difference.
Even with subsidies, in the form of tax credits and even cash payments, it costs more to produce power from the sun than from coal, he said. “Solar is more expensive than any other method of generating electricity in this state.”
Solar panels require relatively high amounts of maintenance in that they must be cleaned of dust, pollen and other contaminants regularly. And even a clean solar panel does not produce much power on a cloudy, rainy day. It produces none at night.
What power is produced is direct current, which requires a nearby transformer station to convert it to alternating current.
All of those things, according to Rust, make it unclear where Atlanta will find enough reliable, renewable energy to meet its needs. And what is found, will almost certainly be more expensive. “If they charge for production costs, then the price is going to go up,” he said. “That is going to make electricity more expensive for all of us.”
He said the construction of solar panels, which is done almost exclusively in China, creates many pollutants, including heavy metals. Panels made in China may be shipped to the United States for less than the cost of producing them here, but that could change if heavy tariffs are imposed on imported panels.
Those tariffs, plus a likely reduction in subsidies under the administration of President Donald Trump, could increase the cost of producing solar power.
“It is unrealistic to expect the cost of solar energy will go down in the future,”Rust said.
Georgia Power declined to comment for this story, and an Atlanta spokesperson did not respond to emailed questions.
