Alabama Public Service Commission approves solar project supporting data center

The Alabama Public Service Commission Tuesday approved a solar project aimed at supporting a Montgomery data center.

Members unanimously approved a certificate of convenience and necessity for Alabama Power’s  “Clearview Ranch Project,” allowing the investor-owned utility to construct a 1,400 acre, 200-megawatt solar photovoltaic generating facility and a 200-megawatt, two-hour duration battery energy storage system in Macon and Bullock counties.

The commission also approved an agreement that allows Alabama Power to pass the costs of the solar project to Dotier, a subsidiary of Meta, for a 20-year term.

“After reviewing the project’s economics and supporting information, staff concluded that the project meets those requirements and will not negatively impact customers,” said Cynthia Almond, the president of the Public Service Commission. “In fact, because Dotier is bearing all the project costs, Alabama Power’s customers are expected to benefit over time rather than having to pay for the project.”

Alabama Power says that Meta is supporting the cost of the project and that the social media company will then receive renewable energy credits in exchange for supporting the project.

However, Alabama Power will develop, own and operate the solar facility. It is another proposed solar project from Alabama Power that will support the $1.5 billion data center that Meta plans to construct in Montgomery along with the solar project planned for Baldwin County, according to reporting from al.com.

A message was sent to Alabama Power on Tuesday seeking comment.

Energy Alabama, an organization that advocates for more renewable energy use in the state, was listed within the docket but was not notified that staff had recommended that it be approved.

“Even as a clean energy advocate, it is very problematic when this type of information is being filed supposedly in a docket, but there is no information there,” said Daniel Tait, executive director of Energy Alabama. “And we didn’t receive any copy of it. The first we are learning of it is when it gets approved at the Public Service Commission.”

Half of the project will be in Macon County, and half in Barbour.

“It will provide power to the power grid, and it is not going to cost us any money,” said Louis Maxwell, chair of the Macon County Commission. “Now, we have not seen a data center yet, that is a different thing.”

Maxwell said he asked Alabama Power about the customers that the solar farm will serve, but the company did not provide that information. However, Alabama Power will compensate the county to build the project within its jurisdiction, according to Maxwell.

Maxwell did not say the amount but directed the Alabama Reflector to contact county staff to answer the question. The Alabama Reflector reached out to Macon County officials for additional information.

According to the Alabama Power website, Macon County is expected to receive about $27 million in revenue from the project over 20 years, or an average of about $1.35 million a year. Bullock will get $56 million in revenue, an average of $2.8 million annually.

Data centers have emerged as a major election issue in Alabama amid concerns about their impacts on local communities, particularly the environment and infrastructure. Republican gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville has embraced their construction, while Democratic gubernatorial nominee Doug Jones has called for a one-year moratorium.