Population:
5,039,877
Greatest population centers:
Birmingham (1.1 Million)
Huntsville (503 Thousand)
Mobile (430 Thousand)
Montgomery (386 Thousand)
Tuscaloosa (268 Thousand)
Electric Utilities:
Baldwin County Electric Membership Corporation
Sand Mountain Electric Cooperative
Southern Pine Electric Cooperative
Generation Mix:
Summary: Situated in the Southeastern US along the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama’s grid has a storied history that begins with its rivers. A rural state, electricity came to Alabama a little later than others. The first major utility and still the largest in the state by far, Alabama Power Company, was founded in 1906 to take advantage of the various rivers, the Tennessee, Black Warrior, Alabama, and of course the Cahaba which flows through Birmingham where the utility’s headquarters exist to this day. A subsidiary of Southern Company, APC provides power to most of the state, though many industrious cooperatives and smaller municipal utilities service various sectors throughout Alabama.
In all, the state produces 152.9 TWh of power annually with a mix of natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, and various renewables including utility scale solar, and three wood pellet plants. Beginning as a hydro state, Alabama ranks 6th in hydroelectric power production in the US with 23 dams providing about 9% of the state’s power. Alabama is also home to the three-reactor Brown Ferry nuclear power plant operated by Tennessee Valley Authority which combined with APC’s 2 reactor Joseph M Farley plant puts Alabama as the fourth largest producer of nuclear energy in the country. The plant itself is the second largest in the country after Arizona’s Palo Verde. Coal also continues to power the Alabama grid, ranking 14th in the nation in coal production, surprisingly low for a southern mining state, though most of the coal mined is exported.
Alabama does not have a net zero or zero carbon goal, the state has not set renewables standards and none of the utilities listed offer net metering. In terms of grid modernization, many Alabama utilities, including APC offer fiber services and smart home and energy efficiency programs. APC has also used data-driven analytics for outage prediction and customer programs.
The Yellowhammer State is a topographically diverse region with decentralized populations and heavy industry which accounts for two fifths of energy consumption in the state.
Sources: https://www.alabamapower.com
https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=AL#tabs-4
https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/05/f22/AL-Energy%20Sector%20Risk%20Profile.pdf
https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php
