The Georgia Public Service Commission, the state agency that regulates Georgia Power, approved 7 new Georgia Power solar projects on September 10, 2026. Together they add 1,137 megawatts of solar power, megawatts being the unit that measures how much electricity a power plant can produce at once, through power purchase agreements, contracts in which Georgia Power agrees to buy the electricity a solar farm produces at a fixed price for years rather than building and owning the farm itself. Georgia Power says commercial operation could start as early as 2029, but the power from these farms does not go to homes.
Which counties get the new solar farms and when they turn on
The 7 projects sit in Sumter, Irwin, Jefferson, Emanuel, Warren, Decatur and Appling counties. Sumter and Irwin carry the largest share, 200 megawatts each, followed by 194 megawatts in Jefferson, 185 in Emanuel, 150 in Warren, 130 in Decatur and 78 in Appling. Jefferson County already hosts a separate 200 megawatt solar project approved in September 2025. The 194 megawatts approved this month is a second, different project in the same county, not that earlier farm growing bigger.
Show the numbers
| Sumter County | 200 |
| Irwin County | 200 |
| Jefferson County | 194 |
| Emanuel County | 185 |
| Warren County | 150 |
| Decatur County | 130 |
| Appling County | 78 |
Who can actually buy this solar power
This solar power does not reach an ordinary household bill. Georgia Power sells shares of it through a subscription program it calls the Clean and Renewable Energy Subscription, or CARES, and the program page Georgia Power itself publishes states that only a business, school, hospital or government customer using more than 1 megawatt of electricity at once can subscribe. Utility scale subscribers need more than 3 megawatts of demand, and distributed generation subscribers need 1 to 3 megawatts, with that same 1 to 3 megawatt band open to municipalities, universities, schools and hospitals. Contracts run at least 10 years, up to 30 to 35 years at the longest, and enrollment fees range from 1,000 to 15,000 dollars depending on the tier.
A program that keeps growing
This approval builds on a program that keeps growing. The commission approved 1,068 megawatts under an earlier round called CARES 2023 in September 2025, across Coffee, Jefferson, Laurens, Mitchell and Wilkinson counties. The new 1,137 megawatts approved this month comes from a later round, CARES 2025, authorized under the 2022 Integrated Resource Plan Georgia Power filed, the long range plan Georgia regulators require every major utility to submit for how it will meet demand. Georgia Power calls the 2023 procurement period, counting both rounds together, the largest single solar procurement the company has made.
The third bar is a separate authorization under a newer tier, not a target the total procurement is growing toward
Show the numbers
| Approved 2025 | 1068 |
| Approved 2026 | 1137 |
| CIR ceiling | 3000 |
A separate, newer tier of the same program, called Customer Identified Resource, was approved on its own for up to 3,000 more megawatts, split between projects larger than 6 megawatts and smaller ones from 250 kilowatts to 6 megawatts. That ceiling is a separate authorization for future projects, not a target the 1,137 megawatts approved this month is working toward.
These new solar resources will deliver affordable and reliable energy at a fixed price for the benefit of all Georgia Power customers for years to come.
Wilson Mallard, director of renewable development, Georgia Power. Source 3.
The commission approved the new agreements under Docket 57154, its certification of the CARES 2025 utility scale renewable power purchase agreements, opened May 20, 2026.