Georgia Power has opened enrollment for CARES CIR, a new program that lets the utility’s commercial and industrial customers propose their own solar and renewable energy projects for the grid. The program was approved in the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan stipulated agreement and sets aside up to 3,000 additional megawatts of renewable capacity. It arrives as Georgia Power reports it has procured more than 2,200 megawatts of new solar in the last two years.
Georgia Power Opens CARES CIR Solar Subscription Enrollment
Georgia Power has launched the Clean and Renewable Energy Subscription Customer Identified Resource program, branded as CARES CIR, for commercial and industrial customers in its service area. The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) greenlit the program in the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan stipulated agreement, the utility said in a release.
The launch comes with a hard cap. Up to 3,000 additional megawatts of renewable energy projects can move through CARES CIR, split into two distinct programs for different sizes of customer. The cap is a ceiling, not a commitment: projects still have to clear Georgia Power’s procurement review, win PSC approval where required, and survive a competitive request for proposals where one is used. The release frames CARES CIR as a “customer-driven expansion” on the existing CARES subscription model.
The CARES CIR program represents the next step in giving our customers more choice and flexibility in how they meet their sustainability goals.
Wilson Mallard, director of renewable development for Georgia Power, said that in the release announcing the program’s enrollment launch. Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO) and serves 2.8 million customers across all but four of Georgia’s 159 counties.
How Customers Now Bring Projects to Georgia Power
Until now, Georgia Power’s standard procurement flow has run in one direction. The utility issues a request for proposals, renewable developers submit bids, and a winning set of projects is selected, often with an independent evaluator and PSC staff in the room. CARES CIR inverts that order at the front end.
Under the new model, an eligible commercial or industrial customer can identify a specific renewable project and submit it to Georgia Power. The utility then runs the competitive procurement where one is required, signs a long-term power purchase agreement with a qualified developer, and executes a subscription agreement with the participating customer.
A customer with a preferred site, a specific technology mix, or a community siting partner in mind can bring the project forward. The release says projects submitted through CARES CIR must come in “at prices that will create value for all Georgia Power customers,” a price test built into the customer’s pitch. The program “preserves benefits and maintains protections for all Georgia Power customers,” the standard affordability framing attached to PSC-approved programs of this size. Georgia Power handles the contracting on the back end.
The CARES subscription pool is already active across the existing 2023 and 2025 RFP deals. Georgia Power’s CARES CIR announcement lays out the program mechanics in full.
Two Programs Split by Customer Demand and Project Size
CARES CIR is two programs, not one. The Utility-Scale track is built for the largest commercial and industrial customers. The Distributed Generation track is built for the mid-tier. Both draw from the same 3,000-megawatt envelope, but they sit behind different customer eligibility tests and different project-size windows.
The Utility-Scale program allows eligible metered customers with annual energy demands above 3 MW to subscribe to renewable projects larger than 6 MW. The Distributed Generation program allows eligible metered commercial and industrial customers with annual energy demands between 1 MW and 3 MW to subscribe to locally sourced solar projects in Georgia ranging from 250 kilowatts to 6 MW in size. The DG side runs through Georgia Power’s standard Distributed Generation RFP process, with a Notice of Intent period and application window expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2026.
| Program | Customer annual demand | Project size | Procurement route |
|---|---|---|---|
| CARES CIR Utility-Scale | Above 3 MW | Larger than 6 MW | Subscription to utility-scale projects |
| CARES CIR Distributed Generation | 1 MW to 3 MW | 250 kW to 6 MW | Standard Distributed Generation RFP |
The 2025 IRP Stipulation That Greenlit 3,000 MW
The 3,000-megawatt figure traces back to a single regulatory document. The Georgia Public Service Commission approved CARES CIR in the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan stipulated agreement, the same deal that authorized the broader IRP’s long-horizon generation and transmission roadmap.
The full 2025 IRP is published on Georgia Power’s 2025 IRP overview page. The commission’s PSC docket 56002 for the 2025 IRP tracks the 2025 IRP proceedings.
For commercial and industrial customers, the operative point is what the stipulation unlocked. Beyond CARES CIR’s 3,000-megawatt ceiling, the broader 2025 IRP includes a 10-year transmission plan and the kind of long-horizon generation roadmap that makes a 20-, 25-, or 30-year power purchase agreement bankable. The combination is the regulatory foundation the customer-led model rests on.
Georgia Power’s existing CARES 2025 RFP deals run from 20 to 30 years. Long contract terms need a long-horizon grid plan, and the 2025 IRP supplies it. The customer-led supply line CARES CIR adds sits inside that same regulatory envelope.
The PSC’s role is not over. Two additional CARES 2023 RFP solar power purchase agreements totaling 385 MW were “recently filed for approval with the PSC,” the release says, and the rest of the CARES 2023 RFP stack remains at more than 1.4 gigawatts total, pending final PSC approval. The DG side of CARES CIR, meanwhile, runs on a slower track: the Notice of Intent period and application window for the Distributed Generation RFP is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2026, the release says.
More Than 2,200 MW of Solar Procured in Two Years
The CARES CIR launch lands on a base of contracts that has already moved. Georgia Power says it has procured more than 2,200 megawatts of new solar in the last two years through the CARES program, with another round of contracts ready to layer in.
The first wave came through the CARES 2023 RFP. The PSC approved 1,068 MW of new solar power purchase agreements and 91 MW of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) under that RFP last year. Two more solar PPAs totaling 385 MW have since been filed for approval, lifting the CARES 2023 RFP total to more than 1.4 gigawatts, pending final PSC sign-off.
A separate CARES 2025 RFP closed on the second wave. That solicitation produced the five 752 MW deals the same release disclosed, sitting on top of the 1,068 MW cleared under the 2023 RFP and a 91 MW battery storage award.
Five Counties and 752 MW of New Solar
The second wave is signed. Through the CARES 2025 RFP, Georgia Power has signed five contracts for 752 MW, the deals were selected after a competitive solicitation overseen by an independent evaluator and PSC staff, and the facilities will be located throughout Georgia. The contract terms vary by site.
The deal terms run 20, 25, or 30 years, and the project sizes run 78 MW to 200 MW. The shortest deal is in Appling County at 78 MW over 20 years. The longest and largest contracts, at 30 years, are in Decatur County (130 MW) and Sumter County (200 MW). The mid-length deals land in between, with the 25-year contracts in Jefferson and Warren counties each coming in under 200 MW.
A 25-year term pairs Jefferson County’s 194 MW and Warren County’s 150 MW. All five are solar facilities, and all five will be located in Georgia.
The contracts are the most concrete output of the CARES framework to date. The company’s CARES subscription page carries the program overview for eligible customers. Georgia’s broader bring-your-own clean energy framework covers the same regulatory pathway from a different angle.
- Appling County: 20-year PPA, 78 MW of solar capacity
- Decatur County: 30-year PPA, 130 MW of solar capacity
- Jefferson County: 25-year PPA, 194 MW of solar capacity
- Sumter County: 30-year PPA, 200 MW of solar capacity
- Warren County: 25-year PPA, 150 MW of solar capacity
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CARES CIR program?
CARES CIR is the Clean and Renewable Energy Subscription Customer Identified Resource program Georgia Power just opened for commercial and industrial customers. It is the customer-identified expansion of the existing CARES subscription program, and it lets a customer bring a renewable project to the utility rather than waiting for the utility to bid one out.
Who can subscribe to CARES CIR?
Two tiers define the customer pool. The Utility-Scale track is open to metered commercial and industrial customers with annual energy demands above 3 MW. The Distributed Generation track is open to those with annual demands between 1 MW and 3 MW.
How much solar has Georgia Power procured through CARES?
Georgia Power has been building toward CARES CIR for two years. The utility has procured more than 2,200 MW of new solar through the CARES program in that span, and the CARES 2023 RFP stack sits at more than 1.4 GW pending final PSC approval.
When does the CARES CIR Distributed Generation RFP open?
The CARES CIR Distributed Generation track runs through Georgia Power’s standard DG RFP. The utility expects the Notice of Intent period and application window for that RFP to open in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the Utility-Scale track does not share the same calendar.
What approved CARES CIR?
CARES CIR’s regulatory foundation is the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan stipulated agreement, the same deal that authorized the broader IRP’s long-horizon generation and transmission roadmap. The PSC greenlit both through the 2025 IRP docket.
