Georgia Power Launches Solar Research Project

ATLANTA, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Power's corporate headquarters will
begin harnessing the sun in 2009 as the company partners with Southern Company
to launch a rooftop solar demonstration program aimed at increasing the use of
renewable energy in Georgia.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050216/CLW066LOGO )

Adding to the building's energy-efficient construction and architecture,
Georgia Power has begun installing seven different commercially viable
photovoltaic (PV) panels on its roof to test which solar technologies perform
best with Georgia's weather patterns and climate.

The project, funded by Southern Company and Georgia Power, will generate cost
and performance data of leading solar technologies and will assist customers
interested in purchasing photovoltaic panels for their own homes or
businesses. The project will collect data from the panels for a minimum of
one year.

Energy generated by the PV panels will partially offset the electricity needs
of Georgia Power's corporate headquarters. Each test technology will be
capable of producing approximately four kilowatts. Four of the solar
technologies have been installed, while the remaining technologies will be
implemented as they become available.

"We continue to explore ways to increase our renewable-energy portfolio," said
Ervan Hancock, manager of renewable and green strategies. "This solar
research project will provide us with valuable data on a small scale of some
of the leading-edge solar technologies on the market. What we learn from this
project will undoubtedly give better insight into actual performance and
economics to further the consideration of solar energy in Georgia."

Georgia Power designed and constructed its corporate headquarters in the 1980s
with energy efficiency in mind. The building boasts environmentally friendly
features such as:

-- Cantilevered architectural design that allows for the floor above to
shade the windows on the floor below. Aluminum tubes on each floor
indention also aid in reducing solar heat.
-- Heavily insulated windows on the east and west sides of the building
to
further reduce solar heat.
-- Fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts for interior lighting.
-- A 300,000 gallon water storage system that chills water at night
during
off-peak electrical demand then runs the chilled water through a heat
exchanger during the day to help cool the building.

The company also recently expanded its Green Energy program to include a
premium option that allows customers to purchase renewable energy - 2 percent
of which is solar - at a cost of $4.50 per 100-kilowatt-hour block. This
solar research project will augment Georgia Power's existing renewable energy
strategy.

The company plans to make the solar demonstration production data available to
the public via an interactive kiosk that will be set up in the lobby of the
corporate headquarters. The kiosk will provide real-time information and
up-to-date results, along with Web data. Georgia Power will work with an
independent consultant to evaluate the performance of each technology and may
consider expanding the project at the end of the evaluation stage.

To learn more about what Georgia Power is doing with solar energy, visit
http://www.georgiapower.com/spotlightsolar/home.asp.

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the
nation's largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned,
tax-paying utility with rates well below the national average. Georgia Power
serves 2.3 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties.

SOURCE Georgia Power

Lynn Wallace, +1-404-506-7676 or 1-800-282-1696, corpcomm@georgiapower.com,
www.georgiapower.com