GEORGIA’S ENERGY SYSTEM IS WORKING - DON’T BREAK IT
Georgia has built one of the strongest, most competitive energy systems in the country. Affordable energy, predictable regulation, and a balanced energy mix have helped make Georgia a national leader in economic growth, manufacturing, and business investment.
Families benefit from stable utility bills. Employers benefit from reliability. Communities benefit from jobs.
Now, policymakers are being pushed to adopt community solar programs that would upend this successful model — shifting costs onto consumers, weakening regulatory oversight, and injecting uncertainty into a system that is already delivering results.
Georgia doesn’t need risky experiments. It needs to protect what’s working.
HIGHER COSTS, FEWER PROTECTIONS: WHY COMMUNITY SOLAR FAILS CONSUMERS
Community solar is often marketed as an affordable option for expanding solar access. But in practice, these programs introduce higher costs and fewer consumer protections – especially compared to Georgia’s existing, regulated approach to energy development.
Georgia’s current energy framework prioritizes affordable energy for families and small businesses by requiring utilities to plan, procure, and deploy generation at the lowest reasonable cost. Community solar breaks from that model by promoting frameworks that shift your neighbors’ costs onto you.
When energy policy moves away from disciplined planning, consumers pay the price.
Why Does Community Solar Increase Costs?
Community solar projects are typically more expensive than utility-scale solar because they lack economies of scale and are developed outside of integrated resource planning. Utilities are often required to purchase this power at fixed rates—regardless of whether it is the most affordable option available.
Those higher costs don’t disappear. They are spread across all customers, including households that do not participate in the program.
Who Pays for Community Solar?
While participation is voluntary, the costs are not.
Community solar programs frequently rely on cost shifting, where non-participating customers subsidize participating subscribers. That means families, seniors, and small businesses—many of whom cannot access or benefit from community solar—are left covering higher system costs through their monthly bills.
This undermines Georgia’s long-standing commitment to fair, affordable energy pricing.
Does Community Solar Lower Bills?
There is no guarantee.
Community solar subscriptions often promise savings, but those savings are uncertain, variable, and dependent on contract terms set by third-party developers—not regulators. In contrast, Georgia’s regulated utility model ensures that new energy resources are added only when they are needed, cost-effective, and in the best interest of consumers.
Affordable energy should not depend on fine print.
Why Georgia’s Current Approach Works
Georgia is already expanding solar responsibly – at scale, at lower cost, and under strong regulatory oversight. Utility-scale solar has allowed the state to grow renewable generation while protecting affordability and reliability for everyone on the system.
Community solar does not improve access. It adds cost, complexity, and risk to an energy system that is already delivering results.
What’s The Takeaway?
Policymakers don’t need to choose between affordable and reliable.
Policies that raise costs, reduce reliability, and harm Georgia families should never be on the table.
GEORGIA IS ALREADY A NATIONAL ENERGY LEADER
Georgia’s success is not accidental. It is the result of disciplined energy planning and a regulatory framework that prioritizes affordability, reliability, and economic growth.
With the eighth-largest population in the nation and a mild climate, Georgia’s per capita energy consumption is lower than nearly 60 percent of states — a sign of efficiency, not excess
Georgia’s nearly $900 billion GDP ranks 8th nationally, powered in part by stable, affordable energy
This balance is exactly why businesses continue to choose Georgia — and why policymakers should not disrupt it.
7th Nationally
Georgia ranks 7th nationally for total installed solar capacity. Georgia has expanded solar through utility-scale development that supports affordable energy and strong regulatory oversight.
Top 10
Atlanta ranks among the top 10 U.S. data center markets. Stable electricity markets and affordable, reliable energy are attracting investment at scale.
TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT AFFORDABLE ENERGY IN GEORGIA
Georgia’s energy system is working because it prioritizes affordability for families and small businesses. But policies that promote community solar could increase electricity costs by adding higher-cost projects to the system and shifting those costs onto consumers.
Lawmakers need to hear directly from the people who would feel these impacts the most.
By submitting the letter below, you’re telling policymakers to oppose policies that promote higher-cost community solar and to protect the cost-conscious energy planning that helps keep energy bills predictable and manageable.
Add your name and make your voice heard.