FORSYTH, Georgia—The Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service on Wednesday announced a $3.3 billion loan for Oglethorpe Power Corp. to build a 1,425-megawatt natural gas plant in Georgia, representing the largest loan in RUS history.
The two-unit Smarr combined-cycle project will produce enough electricity to power about 800,000 homes and help the Tucker, Georgia-based generation cooperative serve growing power demand in the state. The new funding from the RUS Electric Loan Program will save its member co-ops over $25 million annually across the loan’s 30-year term, Oglethorpe said.
“Projects like this are so important,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in announcing the loan at the plant site in Monroe County. “They empower us to build our nation’s electric grid from the ground up, to generate more energy made here at home, to reduce the cost of living and to ensure rural America remains powered, competitive and independent.”
“This project is a shining star of how all of that is achievable when we come together and collaborate.”
The Smarr combined-cycle project “is about meeting a very practical need,” Oglethorpe President and CEO Annalisa Bloodworth said at the event. “Georgia is growing, and we have to act now so that Georgians have the reliable and affordable power that they deserve.”
The savings from the RUS loan “mean that Georgia families, farmers and businesses will get to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pocket where it belongs every month when their electric bill arrives.”
“We are deeply grateful to the USDA and RUS for providing the largest loan in their history,” she said.
The co-op broke ground on the Smarr combined-cycle project in May and expects the plant to start operating in 2029. The facility will be one of the highest-performing, lowest-emitting and most efficient natural gas plants in the state, according to Oglethorpe, whose member co-ops currently serve nearly 5 million Georgians.
The project will also support the local economy, creating up to 1,200 construction jobs and 30 permanent positions and generating tax revenue for schools and county operations, Bloodworth added.
Rollins and Bloodworth were joined at the loan announcement by NRECA CEO Jim Matheson, RUS Administrator Karl Elmshaeuser, Under Secretary for Rural Development Glen Smith and Georgia lawmakers.
“The partnership between electric cooperatives and USDA in providing low-interest financing remains critically important for cooperatives of all sizes,” Matheson said. “Our relationship with USDA is as strong as ever, and that partnership continues to help co-ops meet the growing infrastructure needs of the communities they serve.”
The record-setting loan award highlights the mutually beneficial partnership between co-ops and RUS.
Federal loans from USDA have helped co-ops more affordably serve consumer-members through lower-cost project financing while creating value for American taxpayers. Over the past 20 years alone, Oglethorpe has paid around $2 billion in interest to the federal government through RUS financing, Bloodworth said.
She emphasized the importance of the RUS loan program to co-ops throughout the country and urged Congress to increase program funding through the appropriations process.
“Oglethorpe is not the only one benefiting from this loan program. Our member cooperatives across Georgia, electric cooperatives across the country and their generation and transmission partners all depend on USDA low-interest loans to make critical infrastructure investments in the communities that they serve,” Bloodworth said.
NRECA has successfully advocated in Congress to increase funding for the RUS Electric Loan Program and will continue to do so, with demand frequently exceeding authorized levels.
“We need Congress to increase the authorized lending authority for RUS,” Matheson said. “These loans are repaid, making them a prudent investment that benefits both rural communities and taxpayers. While we have bipartisan support in Congress, it is important to clearly demonstrate that growing electricity demand is creating unprecedented infrastructure needs and that electric cooperatives require expanded access to RUS financing to meet those demands.”
Molly Christian is a staff writer for NRECA.