Oglethorpe Power replanting trees for carbon credits
The replanting project will take place in a 33,000-acre state forest near the Okefenokee Swamp, a portion of southeastern Georgia that was devastated by wildfires two years ago.
Officials from Oglethorpe and the Georgia Forestry Commission, partners in the project, announced the initiative at an environmental conference in Savannah.
“We believe that planting more trees to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is an important part of addressing the climate change issue while also restoring our valuable forestlands and providing important wildlife habitat,” said Michael W. Price, Oglethorpe’s chief operating officer.
Under the plan, Oglethorpe will gain title to the carbon dioxide the replanted trees remove from the air for the first 25 years, then will share those rights with the state for an additional 50 years. Carbon dioxide is among the “greenhouse gases” linked to global warming.
Proposals allowing utilities to receive carbon credits for replanted trees to help offset power plant emissions are part of climate change legislation pending in Congress.
Oglethorpe is the nationÂ’s largest power supply cooperative with about $5 billion in assets. The utility serves 38 electric membership corporations with a total of 4.1 million customers.
Related News

Zero-emission electricity in Canada by 2035 is practical and profitable
OTTAWA - A powerful derecho that left nearly a million people without power in Ontario and Quebec on May 21 was a reminder of the critical importance of electricity in our daily lives.
Canada’s electrical infrastructure could be more resilient to such events, while being carbon-emission free and provide low-cost electricity with a decentralized grid powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, according to a new study from the David Suzuki Foundation (DSF).
This could be accomplished by 2035 by building a lot more solar and wind, adding energy storage, while increasing the energy efficiency in buildings, and modernizing provincial energy grids.…