In 2015, the Georgia General Assembly passed H.B. 57, known as the Solar Power Free-Market Financing Act. The bill was signed into law by Governor Nathan Deal on May 12, 2015. This legislation paved the way for electric customers in Georgia (including counties and municipalities) to enter into Solar Energy Procurement Agreements (SEPAs) for the purpose of securing long-term financing of solar improvements.
At the June 28, 2016, meeting of the Board of Commissioners, Macon-Bibb County approved the very first SEPA agreement for a public entity in Georgia. The county agreed to an agreement with Cherry Street Energy, LLC, to construct a solar canopy at the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office downtown Annex. This arrangement will provide power to the facility at no charge to Macon-Bibb County taxpayers.
Bibb County Sheriff David Davis lent his support to the proposal stating, “It’ll help defray some of our costs for electricity to at some point it will probably be able to power the electricity for the whole facility.” Sam Kitchens, the county’s Assistant Director for Parks and Beautification, added that “[The County’s] goal is to prove that this is a viable project moving forward and to use this as a stepping stone to move into more projects like this in the future.”
