Driving down Highway 411 toward Cartersville, you can't miss them. Those four massive cooling towers of Plant Bowen dominate the Bartow County skyline like some kind of industrial Stonehenge. For decades, the narrative was simple: this was the coal king of the South, a reliable workhorse that kept Georgia’s lights on but was destined for a quiet retirement by the late 2020s.
That plan changed. Fast.
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If you haven't been keeping up with the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) meetings lately—and honestly, who has?—you might be surprised to learn that Plant Bowen isn't going anywhere. In fact, it's doubling down. As of early 2026, the strategy for this site has shifted from "winding down" to "powering the AI revolution." It’s a messy, complicated, and fascinating pivot that tells you everything you need to know about the current state of energy in America.
The Data Center Pivot at Plant Bowen Georgia Power
Why the sudden change of heart? One word: data.
Georgia has become a magnet for massive data centers. These windowless warehouses full of servers are voracious. They don't just "use" electricity; they inhale it. Georgia Power recently projected a staggering 8,500-megawatt growth in demand over the next few years. To put that in perspective, that’s like trying to power several new cities the size of Atlanta simultaneously.
Initially, Units 1 and 2 at Plant Bowen Georgia Power were slated to stop burning coal by 2028. Environmental groups were ready for the celebration. But in a series of votes that wrapped up in late 2025, regulators gave the green light to keep the coal units humming longer than anyone expected—potentially into the 2030s.
It’s not just about keeping the old stuff running, though. The site is becoming a hybrid monster. The 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) updates cleared the way for:
- Two brand-new combined-cycle natural gas turbines at the Bowen site, adding roughly 1,482 MW of capacity.
- A massive battery energy storage system (BESS) capable of 500 MW, turning the old coal grounds into a high-tech battery farm.
- Plans for natural gas co-firing, which basically means the coal units will start "blending" their fuel to meet tighter emissions standards while still pumping out massive amounts of "firm" power.
The Coal Ash Elephant in the Room
You can't talk about Bowen without talking about the mess left behind. Honestly, it’s a sore spot for anyone living near the Etowah River.
Plant Bowen sits on some of the largest coal ash deposits in the country. We’re talking over 20 million cubic yards of the stuff. If you’re not familiar, coal ash is the toxic byproduct left over after you burn coal—it's packed with things like arsenic, mercury, and boron.
For years, the plan was to "cap in place," which is basically putting a giant lid on the waste and hoping for the best. Local activists and the Sierra Club fought that tooth and nail. They pointed to the 2002 sinkhole incident—where a massive hole opened up under an ash pond and dumped two million pounds of slurry into a tributary of the Etowah—as proof that the ground here is too unstable for a "just leave it" approach.
As we move into 2026, Georgia Power has pivoted to a "beneficial reuse" strategy. They are literally mining the old ash out of the ponds to use it in concrete for roads and bridges. It’s a win-win on paper, but the sheer scale is daunting. They're aiming to recycle about 600,000 tons a year. At that rate, they’ll be digging at Bowen for decades.
Reliability vs. The Environment: The Great Debate
There is a real tension here that "clean energy" brochures usually gloss over.
Solar and wind are great, but they don't provide "firm" power—the kind that stays on when the sun goes down and the wind stops. Data centers need that 24/7 reliability. That’s why the PSC, led by commissioners like Jason Shaw and Tim Echols, ultimately voted to keep Bowen’s coal and gas assets in play. They argue that if Georgia can’t provide the power, these billion-dollar tech investments will just go to another state.
Critics, however, are furious. They see this as a betrayal of the 2022 promises to decarbonize. Groups like the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy have pointed out that while Georgia Power is adding solar, the massive expansion of gas at Bowen and other sites like Plant McIntosh means the state's carbon footprint might actually grow in the short term.
Then there’s the bill. This massive expansion—estimated at $16 billion but potentially much higher when you count third-party contracts—is going to be paid for by someone. Georgia Power says the data centers will carry the load, even promising a small "downward pressure" on residential bills starting in 2028. But if those data centers don't materialize or if they move out in ten years? You’ve got a massive bill left for the rest of us.
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What This Means for Bartow County
For the people in Euharlee and Cartersville, Plant Bowen is more than a line item on a utility bill. It’s an employer.
The plant provides hundreds of high-paying jobs. When the talk was all about "retirement," there was a palpable fear of an economic vacuum. The pivot to gas and battery storage changes that narrative. Instead of a ghost town, Bowen is looking at a massive construction boom over the next five years.
Construction of the new gas turbines and the BESS facility will bring in thousands of temporary workers. It’s a shot in the arm for local businesses, even if it comes with the bittersweet reality that the "clean break" from fossil fuels has been postponed.
Actionable Steps for Georgia Residents
If you’re a Georgia Power customer or a Bartow County resident, you shouldn't just sit back and watch the cooling towers. Here is how you can actually engage with what’s happening at Plant Bowen:
1. Watch the 2028 Rate Case
The promises of lower bills ($8.50 per month "downward pressure") are tied to the next rate case in 2028. This is when the rubber meets the road. Keep an eye on the PSC filings to ensure the "large load" customers (the data centers) are actually paying their fair share of the Bowen expansion.
2. Monitor the Ash Removal Reports
Georgia Power is required to provide updates on their coal ash recycling progress. If you live near the Etowah, these reports are your best insight into whether the "beneficial reuse" program is actually moving fast enough to protect the groundwater.
3. Evaluate Energy Efficiency Programs
The best way to offset the rising costs of this massive grid expansion is to use less of it. Georgia Power often has rebates for smart thermostats or HVAC upgrades that are "hidden" in their customer portal. Use them before the 2028 rate adjustments kick in.
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4. Follow the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Updates
The energy landscape in Georgia changes every three years. The next big "showdown" will be the 2028 IRP, where the final fate of Bowen’s Units 1 and 2 will likely be decided once and for all.
Plant Bowen isn't just a relic of the 1970s anymore. It’s the front line of a national debate over whether we can actually have "clean" energy and "reliable" AI-driven growth at the same time. For now, the answer in Georgia seems to be: keep everything running and build even more.