Georgia Power is pushing for a 12% increase in electricity rates over the next three years, along with other requests over the next year that could saddle ratepayers reimbursing for higher fuel costs and the snakebitten nuclear expansion at Plant Vogtle.

Runoff from a growing number of giant solar farms polluting rivers and streams in rural South Georgia is becoming a major concern, an official with the state Environmental Protection Division said Monday.

A Georgia utility is working with one of the nation’s largest independent power producers to bring utility-scale solar energy projects to Georgia.

The project will be delivered in three phases over the next two to three years, with construction of the first phase due to start soon. Silicon Ranch plans to hire more than 400 craft workers to build the first phase over the next 12 months.

The Sustainable Highways Innovation Act is modeled after The Ray, an 18-mile stretch of Interstate 85 in LaGrange used to test clean energy technologies, Ossoff, D-Ga., said Wednesday during a news conference held beside a solar array at the site.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has mapped out ways for Georgia Power's parent company to switch to renewable energy by 2035.

By allowing individuals to buy solar equipment in bulk, programs in Atlanta and Savannah aim to help make renewable energy affordable.

After the nuclear catastrophe, the nation's investment in renewable energy soared. Many of those affected in Fukushima started production. But Japan is pushing fossil fuels, causing climate concerns.

Extreme heat waves are on the rise, but California regulators didn't plan for what that would do the state's electricity grid.