Georgia Power has started construction at Plant Bowen in Bartow County, Georgia, on two combined cycle natural gas units that will add about 1,482 MW of generation to one of the largest power stations in the United States. The ceremony took place on 28 July 2026 at the site near Euharlee, with Deputy Secretary James P. Danly and senior adviser Alex Fitzsimmons attending for the United States Department of Energy. Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, puts the pair of units at 1,485 MW and is building them alongside a 500 MW battery energy storage system that will use Tesla Megapack units. The existing station is a coal burning plant of four units rated at 3,376 MW, with the first of them brought online in 1971. Both new units were certified by the Georgia Public Service Commission in December 2025 as part of an expansion of roughly 9,885 MW, the largest in the utility’s history, and they were selected through an all source competitive tender run with commission staff and an independent evaluator. Financing comes with federal support. Southern Company and the Department of Energy announced a loan package of up to US$26.5 billion in February 2026 covering more than 200 eligible projects in Georgia and Alabama, which Danly described as the largest loan in the agency’s history. Georgia Power expects the units to be running within three to four years.

Bartow County Joins a Georgia Gas Building Wave Driven by Data Centre Load

Cost is the one number Georgia Power has not put on the table for Bowen, but a near identical scheme down the road gives a sense of scale. Oglethorpe Power is developing the 1,425 MW two unit Smarr combined cycle project in Monroe County on a budget of US$3.3 billion, with commercial operation targeted for 2029 and about US$467 million already spent as of 31 March 2026, according to its quarterly filing. Georgia Power is running a similar programme at multiple sites, adding a 757 MW unit at Plant McIntosh in Effingham County and comparable gas capacity at Plant Yates, with further units at Plant Wansley. The driver is load growth from data centres, and the state’s own regulator staff estimated the full package would recover US$50 billion to US$60 billion from customers over the life of the assets. Set against that, Georgia’s earlier clean energy projects look small. Plug Power spent US$84 million on the Camden County plant covered when Construction Review reported the groundbreaking for the green hydrogen production plant in Georgia, a facility sized for 15 tons of liquid hydrogen a day and roughly two dozen permanent jobs. Storage is the one segment moving quickly on both counts. Georgia Power has finished the 49.5 MW Moody battery facility near Valdosta and has a 260 MW system under way near Wadley in Jefferson County for 2027.

Plant Bowen Completion Date and the Air Permit Fight Ahead

Site work is now under way, with the units aligned to winter capacity needs running from 2029 through 2031. The bigger question is whether the permits hold. In late February 2026 the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Sierra Club sued over the air permit issued by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, arguing that ozone readings in metro Atlanta since 2023 have pushed the region back above the federal standard and that stricter permitting rules should therefore apply. The suit asks for the permit to be vacated and reconsidered, which would force a fresh application with tighter limits on nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds. A separate petition lodged in Fulton County Superior Court in March 2026 challenges the commission’s certification itself, on the argument that need was never proven for every resource approved. Georgia Power’s answer on cost is contractual. Chief executive Kim Greene has said large customers including data centres are signing agreements that run as long as 25 years and carry minimum monthly bills and collateral, so residential customers are not left holding the bill. The company also expects the investment to more than double what the plant contributes in property taxes to Bartow County.

Project Fact Sheet

• Project Name: Plant Bowen expansion, comprising two combined cycle gas units and a battery energy storage system
• Location: Plant Bowen, Euharlee, Bartow County, Georgia, United States
• Project Value: Not disclosed for the Bowen units alone. They sit inside a roughly 9,885 MW programme that Georgia Public Service Commission staff estimated would recover between US$50 billion and US$60 billion from customers over the life of the resources
• Client and Owner: Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company
• Main Contractor: Not yet disclosed
• Key Components: Two combined cycle natural gas units of about 1,482 MW combined, quoted by Georgia Power at 1,485 MW, plus a 500 MW battery energy storage system using Tesla Megapack units
• Existing Site: Four coal units rated at 3,376 MW, in service since 1971
• Procurement Model: Company owned generation chosen through an all source competitive tender and certified by the Georgia Public Service Commission in December 2025
• Financing: Supported by a Department of Energy loan package of up to US$26.5 billion to Southern Company, announced February 2026
• Construction Start: Groundbreaking held 28 July 2026
• Expected Completion: Within three to four years, matched to winter capacity needs from 2029 through 2031
• Strategic Impact: Property tax receipts from the plant in Bartow County expected to more than double, with Georgia Power projecting about US$7.3 billion in customer savings across the roughly 30 year loan term

Project Team

• Client and Owner: Georgia Power
• Parent Company: Southern Company
• Certifying Regulator: Georgia Public Service Commission
• Air Permitting Authority: Georgia Environmental Protection Division
• Lender: United States Department of Energy, through its Office of Energy Dominance Financing
• Battery Supplier: Tesla, providing Megapack units for the 500 MW storage system
• Main Contractor: Not yet disclosed
• Objecting Parties: Southern Environmental Law Center and the Sierra Club, acting for local congregations and clean energy groups

Frequently Asked Questions

How much will the Plant Bowen expansion cost? Georgia Power has not published a separate figure for the two Bowen units. For scale, Oglethorpe Power budgeted US$3.3 billion for a comparable 1,425 MW combined cycle project at Smarr in Monroe County.

When will the new Plant Bowen gas units be completed? Georgia Power expects them online within three to four years of the July 2026 groundbreaking, timed to meet winter capacity needs between 2029 and 2031.

Who is building the Plant Bowen expansion? Georgia Power is developing and will own the units, with Tesla supplying Megapack batteries for the storage element. The main construction contractor has not been disclosed.

How much power will the Plant Bowen expansion add? About 1,482 MW from two combined cycle gas units, which Georgia Power quotes as 1,485 MW, plus 500 MW of battery storage. The existing coal units at the site are rated at 3,376 MW.

Why is the Plant Bowen expansion being challenged in court? The Southern Environmental Law Center and the Sierra Club are contesting the air permit, arguing that metro Atlanta ozone levels since 2023 require stricter permitting than the state applied.