Sustainable Georgia Roundup

Sustainability Milestones: Atlanta-based Novelis, the world’s largest aluminum recycler and a leader in aluminum rolled products, announced significant sustainability progress during the past decade. This year, the company’s products were comprised of 57 percent recycled content, compared to 30 percent recycled content 10 years ago. Also during this timeframe, Novelis reduced water usage by 28 percent and carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent.

Guaranteed Performance: Douglas County is partnering with Massachusetts-based Ameresco, an energy solutions company, in a $2.2-million Guaranteed Energy Savings Performance Contract. Ameresco will upgrade infrastructure in 38 municipal government buildings for improved energy efficiency. The project is expected to save the county approximately $164,000 and reduce energy use by 1.5 million kilowatt hours each year over the 15-year contract term.

More Access: The Atlanta Regional Commission, Cobb County and The Trust for Public Land have teamed up to contract for an 18-month, $1.5-million Chattahoochee Greenway Study to find places where access to the Chattahoochee River can be improved. The study will investigate ways to enable more people to get on the river throughout the 100-mile stretch from Lake Lanier’s Buford Dam to Chattahoochee Bend State Park near Newnan.

Solar Investment: Silicon Ranch Corp., based in Nashville, Tenn., and one of the country’s largest independent solar power producers, announced an $89-million investment in two solar projects in the city of Bluffton, in Southwest Georgia. When these facilities come online in 2021, they will generate enough renewable power to serve about 19,000 homes for the next 30 years and bring significant tax revenues to Clay County.