The Georgia Public Service Commission approved the installation of one megawatt of solar generation in the right-of-way along Interstate 85 in Troup County, Ga., during a hearing on the Georgia Power Company’s 2016 Integrated Resource Plan. The motion was proposed by Commissioner Tim Echols of the GPSC and passed at two separate administrative sessions on July 28th and September 8th.  Votes were 4-1 and 3-2 respectively.
 
“I’m very excited about the potential of The Ray and its ability to demonstrate roadside solar as another form of alternative energy,” said GPSC Chairman Chuck Eaton.
 
The Georgia Power Company will own the project, and construction must be completed by December 2019. Possible benefits of the solar pilot project to the highway system could include interstate lighting, among other things.
 
“In working in partnership with The Ray, GDOT and Georgia Power, we are ambitiously optimistic this project will be a success. The land is there and when we put an array on it we can cut down on maintenance costs and use it to generate renewable energy,” said GPSC Vice-chairman Lauren “Bubba” McDonald.
 
"The pilot project approved by the Public Service Commission in conjunction with The Ray and GDOT will be one of Georgia Power's most unique," said Commissioner Tim Echols, who championed the motion. "We continue to add more and more solar to our grid, bringing our state into the top tier of renewable energy nationwide.”
 
The development and installation of right-of-way solar is an innovative project of The Ray, an 18-mile corridor on Interstate 85 from the Georgia-Alabama line to Exit 18, including the cities of West Point and LaGrange. The Ray is named in memory of sustainable business pioneer Ray C. Anderson and is a proving ground for ideas and technologies that will transform the transportation infrastructure of the future to be safer, more climate friendly and more economically generative.
 
The Georgia Department of Transportation played a critical role in supporting the integration of right-of-way solar into the 2016 IRP and advancing the GPSC’s support of the initiative through a letter of support issued during the comment period.  This project has provided a historically unprecedented opportunity for increased interagency cooperation between the GPSC and GDOT.
 
“Safe, efficient transportation is our core mission at GDOT,” said Sam Wellborn, member of the State Transportation Board representing District 3.  “This solar pilot on The Ray is a great example of how we can use technology to leverage more value from our assets, including our land, while maintaining the safest and most efficient roads.”
 
The implementation of right-of-way solar and deployment of renewable energy generation assets in the state-owned and maintained right-of-way is a first in Georgia.  A half-dozen similar projects are operational nationwide.
“This pilot with GDOT, the Georgia Power Company and the Georgia Public Service Commission will help us understand how we can use our roadsides for generating clean solar energy, at a competitive price, while keeping drivers safe,” said Harriet Langford, president of The Ray. “This opportunity is so important for Georgia because we are rich in the resources – we have so much sunshine and so much empty right-of way.”
 
GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry created a staff working group for seamless conveyance and vetting of opportunities and ideas for The Ray, which has facilitated a remarkably productive and close working relationship.  Also, in 2014 and June 2016 the State Transportation Board passed resolutions endorsing the application of innovative, safe and sustainable demonstrations on The Ray, paving the way for transportation innovation in Georgia and beyond.