Georgia Power has received delivery of a turbine and generator for the new Unit 9 at Plant Yates in Coweta County, Georgia. The components, which include a Mitsubishi Power M501JAC simple-cycle gas combustion turbine and a Mitsubishi Electric Power VP-X Series turbine generator, were assembled at Mitsubishi Power’s Savannah Machinery Works facility and transported to the site by rail and truck.
The company is constructing three new combustion turbines (CTs) at Plant Yates, following approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission in the 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Update. The units are scheduled to be operational by the end of 2027 to address increased energy demand in Georgia. Deliveries for Unit 8 occurred in August, while Unit 10 components are expected in early 2026. Once completed, these three units will add a total generation capacity of 1,300 megawatts.
Each advanced-class gas turbine weighs nearly 350 tons and measures about 50 feet long and 18 feet wide. The air-cooled design eliminates steam cooling requirements, enabling faster start-up times of approximately 30 minutes and greater operational flexibility. In case natural gas becomes unavailable, the turbines can run on oil stored on-site. With future modifications, they may also operate using hydrogen fuel blends—a technology Georgia Power is exploring through its partnership with Mitsubishi Power on a hydrogen-blending project at Plant McDonough-Atkinson.
The generators installed are hydrogen-cooled units rated at 583 megavolt-amperes each and have achieved an efficiency rate of 99%. Each unit weighs over 779,000 pounds.
Plant Yates has been part of Georgia’s power infrastructure since it began operations in 1950. Most coal-fired units were decommissioned or converted to natural gas by 2014. The current expansion will create around 600 construction jobs and add about 15 permanent positions upon completion.
Natural gas accounts for about forty percent of Georgia Power’s annual electricity generation. The company continues to coordinate with state regulators through its IRP process to ensure reliable service as demand grows across Georgia.
Georgia Power is also upgrading other facilities; combined-cycle and simple-cycle upgrades at Plant McIntosh near Savannah will add another estimated 268 megawatts of capacity using existing infrastructure.
Additionally, an all-source request for proposal certification filing with the PSC includes plans for five new combined cycle units totaling nearly 3,700 megawatts to be distributed across several sites in Georgia to maintain grid stability as the state’s population increases.
For more information about Mitsubishi Power generation technology, visit the Mitsubishi Power Americas website.
Information about Georgia Power’s energy portfolio and planning processes is available at www.GeorgiaPower.com.
