(TUCKER, July 31, 2006) - Georgia's first renewable energy program, Green Power EMC, just welcomed another 12,000 customers via its newest member, Washington EMC in Sandersville. The recent addition brings Green Power EMC membership to 29 electric cooperatives in Georgia, offering green energy to approximately 1.5 million households.

"We're delighted Washington EMC made the decision to join the renewable energy effort," said Green Power EMC President Michael Whiteside. "The EMCs are extremely pleased to offer consumers environmentally-friendly sources of energy, and we're happy that more EMCs are joining in the effort."

Created in 2001, Green Power EMC was originally a partnership of 17 Georgia cooperatives to contract for electricity generated by renewable resources, like biomass, solar and low-impact hydro. To date, Green Power EMC has generated more than 82 million kilowatt hours of electricity from two landfill gas to electricity projects and a low impact hydroelectric project.

The Roberts Road landfill facility in Fayette County generates one megawatt of power to the statewide electric grid, along with four megawatts of electricity generated at the Taylor County landfill near Columbus, the site of Georgia's first renewable energy facility.

Green Power EMC also added to its generating capacity a low impact hydroelectric generating plant at Tallassee Shoals in Athens, which produces two megawatts of electricity.

Moreover, Green Power EMC announced its latest renewable energy project in March with plans to purchase 20 megawatts of electricity from the first poultry litter-to-energy operation in Georgia.

The electricity will be provided by Earth Resources Inc., which will construct a chicken litter-to-electricity plant near Carnesville, Ga., about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta. The Franklin County plant is the first in the state to use a gasification system to convert poultry litter into a useful product - electricity.

Additionally, Green Power EMC continues to explore other renewable resources such as solar and wind to add to its generating capacity. In 2005, the EMCs launched a test to evaluate the potential of wind generation in Georgia.

The test site is located atop Oglethorpe Power Corporation's Rocky Mountain Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Plant in Floyd County, Ga. A stand-alone wind assessment tower has been installed by Renewable Generation, Inc., at the edge of the pumped storage facility to collect various wind-related data over a 12-month period.

Customers signing up for green power pay an additional charge each month ranging from $3 to $5 per 150 kilowatt-hour block, depending upon the participating EMC.

Original participants in Green Power EMC include Carroll, Cobb, Coweta-Fayette, Habersham, Irwin, Jackson, Lamar, Ocmulgee, Sawnee, Snapping Shoals, Tri-County and Walton EMCs; Coastal Electric; Diverse Power; Flint Energies; GreyStone Power; Jefferson Energy; and Southern Rivers Energy. In 2005, Altamaha, Amicalola, Canoochee, Grady, Hart, Mitchell, Little Ocmulgee, Planters, Slash Pine, Three Notch and Sumter EMCs joined Green Power EMC, offering an additional 200,000 households the choice of purchasing "green" or renewable energy.

Collectively, the 42 customer-owned EMCs provide electricity and related services to four million people, nearly half of Georgia's population, across 73 percent of the state's land area. Georgia's 42 electric membership cooperatives now serve more customers than any other state network of EMCs in the nation.

For more information on Green Power EMC, visit www.greenpoweremc.com.