Advocates call for faster climate action as Georgia Power hearings begin

Solar Shortage New Mexico

This June 15, 2021 photo shows a Public Service Co. of New Mexico solar farm west of Rio Rancho, N.M. Georgia Power is proposing to add solar power and phase out coal in the coming years. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

This coverage is made possible through a partnership with WABE and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.

As long as it works, a lot of people don’t think much about electricity beyond paying the bill. Plug something in, flip a switch, it turns on. But how that power is generated can have big consequences — for people’s power bills and for the planet. 

There are lots of ways to make electricity: burning coal, gas, oil or wood; harnessing the power of the sun, the wind or running water; or using nuclear reactions.