Episode Description
Georgia is the second-largest data center market in the country, and its grid is straining under load growth no one predicted five years ago. Michael Chanin, CEO of Cherry Street Energy, joins Tim to break down how behind-the-meter solar and storage are stepping in, why utilities need private capital to keep rates in check, and what a multi-gigawatt data center outside Savannah means for the region.
Tim sits down with Michael Chanin, CEO of Cherry Street Energy, a vertically integrated power company based in Georgia that develops, owns, and operates behind-the-meter solar and storage for commercial and industrial customers across the Southeast.
Georgia repealed its ban on third-party solar ownership in 2015, opening the door for "Solar Energy Procurement Agreements" (Georgia's version of a PPA). Since then, Cherry Street has built a customer base that includes Delta Air Lines, Porsche Cars North America, Gulfstream, and the City of Atlanta, offering no-cost, no-upfront-investment solar that cuts customers' energy bills and carbon footprint.
Chanin and Tim dig into what is driving unprecedented load growth in Georgia: the state is now the second-largest data center market in the US after Virginia, and OpenAI recently announced its "Project Camellia" data center campus near Savannah in Effingham County, a $20 billion, 3.2-gigawatt (3,200 MW) project built in partnership with Georgia Power. On the recording, Chanin describes the project as a joint Anthropic/OpenAI announcement and cites 4,000 megawatts of capacity; public reporting on this specific project ties it to OpenAI at roughly 3,200 MW, so that detail is worth a quick check with Chanin or Cherry Street before publishing.
Other topics covered:
- How Cherry Street's economics pencil out: average customer electricity cost of 10-12 cents/kWh, build costs under $1.50/watt, and how real-time pricing has made solar competitive even against historically cheap fossil generation
- Cherry Street's solar-plus-storage pilot with Georgia Power and the emerging value stack for behind-the-meter batteries (capacity payments, energy payments, demand management)
- Georgia's Public Service Commission, including Chair Jason Shaw and newly elected Democratic commissioners Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard
- Cherry Street's vertically integrated delivery model: in-house engineers, general contractors, and site supervisors that take a project from signed contract to energized system in under 100 days
Cherry Street Energy shows what happens when a state removes one legal barrier and lets the market do the rest. Georgia's 2015 shift on third-party ownership opened the door. Rising load growth from data centers and electrification is now forcing utilities, regulators, and private developers to work together on a scale nobody planned for a few years ago. Chanin's take is clear: solar and storage are not a side story in Georgia's power future. They are becoming part of how the state keeps the lights on and the bills manageable. Listen to the full conversation for the details on Cherry Street's build process, its storage pilot with Georgia Power, and what EPCs and developers should know before entering the Southeast market.
Connect with Michael Chanin, Cherry Street Energy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchanin/
Website: https://www.cherrystreet.com/
Connect with Tim
Clean Power Hour
Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn
Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com
Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts
The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com
Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/
The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com