CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Could you imagine living in a county that offered free electricity?
It sounds nice, and one Clayton County man says it’s possible.
“Clayton is our home,” explained Allen Stewart.
And showing his commitment to making Clayton County green, Stewart pedaled to his interview with 11Alive’s La’Tasha Givens on his custom-built electric bike, instead of driving.
Stewart created the organization Blackfoot ATL and wants to make the county green - starting with energy independence.
“Clayton needs a lot of things, and there’s a lot of abandoned properties, and nobody want to live here, and if we come together, we can make it better,” he explained.
The latest census data shows Clayton County has a population of about 285,000 residents with a poverty rate of 21 percent. Stewart said with all of the abandoned or unused land, he's found a way to not only create a greener county - but also provide free electricity to its residents as well.
“We would take a lot like this and put solar panels all over,” he explained, gesturing to the empty lot.
“If we get two of these lots, one of them could be for solar panels, like a regular solar farm type of set up, and the other one could have mirrors to concentrate it,” he continued.
According to his estimates, Stewart said if this unused parking lot off of Highway 85 were filled with solar panels, Riverdale residents in the area could see a 5 percent drop in their electricity bills. And if more are installed around the county, he said they could have free electricity.
“Imagine living somewhere and you don't have to pay an electricity bill,” he asked. “We can do that with the level of technology that we have today, so, why not?”
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Georgia ranks eleventh for solar energy capacity when compared to other states. Stewart said with the number of sunny days in Georgia, solar panels should be a no-brainer.
“So this would be a perfect day to generate power?” asked 11Alive.
“Yes, and it’s like this a lot - no clouds in the sky,” Stewart answered.
On top of that, Stewart said it just makes business sense for the county.
“If we get free electricity, so many people are going to want to move here … so many jobs are going to be coming into the area,” he said.
But he doesn’t want to stop there - after solar panels, Stewart said windmills should flow in next. And the science is apparently there to back him up. A CleanEnergy.org article lists several reasons why wind energy would work in Georgia.
First, wind farms don’t require water to generate power. That could greatly reduce water consumption - a plus since Georgia is prone to droughts. Second, a study from Geo Marine, Inc. shows Georgia has enough offshore wind energy potential to meet a third of the state’s annual electricity needs at current consumption rates.
Stewart said it will cost about $15 million to start his plan, as outlined on his GoFundMe page.
“There’s so much potential here,” Stewart concluded. “We want to make Clayton County a major part of Atlanta.”
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