And Coweta-Fayette EMC customers will even be able to buy some of that power.

Plant Carl is a 20-megawatt power plant that will run off a combination of chicken litter and "woody biomass" — such as scrap wood, tree trunks, and the like.

All 20 of those megawatts will be bought by Green Power EMC, a conglomeration of various electric membership cooperatives in Georgia that researches, develops, and buys alternative energy.

This is the biggest project to date for Green Power EMC, said President and CEO Mike Whiteside, who is also president and CEO of Coweta-Fayette EMC.

Green Power EMC currently has two projects which burn landfill gas to create electricity — including one in Fayette County, and the Tallasee Shoals low impact hydroelectric plant near Athens.

EMC customers can purchase 150 kilowatt "blocks" of green energy. Those blocks cost an additional $3 to $5, depending on location, Whiteside said.

A half cent of each of those green power blocks goes into Green Power's research and development funds. That money is used to "sponsor new renewable projects or do research," Whiteside said