Customer-Owners served by Central Georgia EMC can enjoy the benefits of solar energy without the costs and complications of rooftop solar panels, thanks to a new program in partnership with Green Power EMC, a renewable energy cooperative.
Advantages of Cooperative Solar with Central Georgia EMC
- Low-cost way to benefit from solar energy
- No maintenance hassles
- The perfect solution for renters who want to be involved with renewable energy
- No red tape with zoning restrictions or homeowners’ associations
- No holes in the roof to accommodate solar equipment
- No long-term contract or commitment
Solar energy will be allocated to your electric bill on a monthly basis.
CGEMC’s Cooperative Solar program will allow you to choose just the right amount of solar energy from our offsite energy facility. Our Cooperative Solar subscribers will receive affordable, renewable solar energy directly from our portfolio of solar energy resources. Our offsite shared facility is a 942 acres solar energy facility located in Hazlehurst, Georgia.
Pricing and Energy Output
The monthly charge for each 1 kW block of solar energy is $19.
For $19 per month for each solar energy block, you will receive a credit on your monthly bill for the kilowatt-hours (kWh) generated by your solar energy block(s). Each block is expected to generate 114 to 186 kWh monthly. If you use fewer kWh during the billing period than the kWh generated by your solar energy block(s), you will receive credit for the excess energy (per CGEMC’s Net Metering Service Rider). The monthly energy produced for each customer varies due to the position of the sun, time of year, and the number of cloudy days. Therefore, you will receive different amounts of solar energy each month, based on the availability of sunlight and the performance of the solar facility. The $19 per block Cooperative Solar charge will appear as a separate line item on your bill.
FAQ Cooperative Solar
The Cooperative Solar program is designed to give many of the same benefits as solar panels that are installed on your roof but without the common concerns of rooftop solar.
Participating Central Georgia EMC Customer-Owners can subscribe to a block of solar energy for $19 per month. Each block includes energy from 1kW.
The number of blocks you can purchase is unlimited.
The energy output from each block is approximately 114 to 186 kilowatt-hours (kWh) monthly. Energy production may be higher or lower due to the time of the year, the number of cloudy days in the month and other factors.
The energy output from each block will offset an equivalent amount of traditional power, allowing Customer-Owners to enjoy the benefits of renewable energy for an affordable price.
$19 for each 1 kW block. The total number of subscribed blocks will be added to the Customer-Owners’ monthly bill.
Residential Customer-Owners on the monthly billing program are eligible to participate. Customer-Owners enrolled in the Pre-Paid program are not eligible to participate.
There is no contract to participate with Cooperative Solar. You can contact us at any time to cancel or add more blocks.
You will be billed an additional $19 per month for each block of solar energy in your regular electric bill. The $19 per block Cooperative Solar charge will appear as a separate line item on your bill. The kilowatt-hours produced by your block(s) in each calendar month will offset the same number of kilowatt-hours on your bill the following month. If your block(s) produces more kilowatt-hours than you use during your billing period, you will receive credit for the excess energy, according to the Distributed Generation Policy.
The energy generated will come from a 52 Mega Watt AC solar power plant in Jeff Davis County, Georgia. Central Georgia EMC has designated the energy from this project to be used for the Cooperative Solar program.
The program is not designed to reduce electric bills. However, the program does offer an easy, affordable way to meet some of your electrical needs through clean, renewable energy. Although the output of the solar is netted against your home’s total consumption, and this will reduce your billed energy, the cost to produce the solar output is slightly higher than the cost of offset usage.
The program makes the benefits of clean, green solar power more widely available. A standalone system may not be an option for many Customer-Owners, including renters or those whose rooftops are shaded by trees. Some other advantages of Cooperative Solar are:
- Economies of scale bring costs down
- No holes in the roof
- No need to worry about the orientation of the roof
- No maintenance
- No long-term contract or financing
- A convenient and affordable choice for Customer-Owners who live in apartments and would like to purchase solar energy
- Homeowners under restrictive covenants can participate
You can register online or by calling our office at 770-775-7857.
Solar arrays feed energy into the power grid. Once this energy is fed into the power grid, there is no distinction between the power generated elsewhere.
Yes, if you are moving to another household serviced by Central Georgia EMC. Please inform us that you would like to continue with the program when you disconnect your old service. You will not be able to continue your program subscription if you are moving out of the Central Georgia EMC service territory.
Each month your bill will include a line item that details the Kilowatt-hour (kWh) amount of solar-generated the calendar month before based on the number of blocks you have purchased.
You will see a separate line item on your bill for Cooperative Solar.