Weyerhaeuser NR Co. (WY) asked the Georgia Public Service Commission on Sept. 10 that it be put on a Proxy Qualifying Facility (QF) Waiting List because it can potentially produce about 15 MW of exportable power capacity at its pulp mill.
In May 2010, Georgia Power (GPC) issued its 2015 Request for Proposals in this docket seeking bids for capacity and energy to fulfill GPC’s future needs. Currently, QFs have noticed in 250 MW of capacity for the 2015 RFP. The commission has granted a number of waivers and extensions in connection with the 2015 RFP. Recently, the Commission extended the deadlines for the posting of collateral by the QFs and the commercial operation date.
In a September 2011 order the commission established a waiting list for parties that were interested in providing capacity for the 2015 RFP. There are currently two companies on the Proxy QF Waiting List: Wiregrass Power (7 MW) and Graphic Packaging (9 MW).
WY owns and operates a bleached southern softwood kraft pulp manufacturing facility in Flint River (Oglethorpe), Macon County, Ga. WY said it is planning to implement an Energy Optimization Project at the mill focused on increasing energy efficiency, improving environmental performance, and increasing the mill’s capability to generate renewable power.
The mill currently generates and uses wood residuals from processing of logs into chips, which are used to generate steam and power for mill operations. The Energy Optimization Project will make the mill more efficient by decreasing the amount of energy used by the mill in pulp production and increasing the amount of electric energy that would be available to export to the grid. The Energy Optimization Project could be engineered to result in 15 MW of capacity being available to contract to GPC under the 2015 RFP.
